Plus it is clear from the many, many friends she had, that she was a person that people liked to be around. There is tons of evidence on that, from the long term friendships that were developed during her days as a military wife, to the friends she had in Maryland in the community where she lived, to the friends from Rosewalk, an independent living facility at the time she was there, to her stay here at Green House Cottages, where the staff genuinely liked her.

Elaine had grown up in a family that did not have a lot of money. And she married a soldier which meant that the military pay they lived on could be described simply as adequate. Yet I do not recall ever wanting for anything. I had school clothes, dress clothes, and play clothes. I was signed up for Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, and Little League; and my parents got me to all those meetings and games. And to summer camps. And weekly to Sunday School. And I was disciplined when I needed it, but I don’t ever recall being screamed at or beaten, though at times I probably deserved a bit of each. We did go to Bethany Beach and to the beach at Ocean City, but our vacations were very modest by today's standards.

Without much input from me because I was pretty immature at the time, they arranged my admission to Purdue University to study civil engineering, knowing that I had an aptitude for science and mathematics, and that turned out well.

Mom had seen her husband go off to World War II and listened to nightly radio news broadcasts on the progress of the conflict. She also got to see her son go off to war in Vietnam and this time got nightly TV updates on the progress of that conflict. That had to be hard. Though my military duties kept us geographically separated, she loved her trips to Europe to visit with our family. Of course she would: she had free travel guides who spoke a bit of the language – what's not to like about that?

When I was married to Bonnie, Mom and Dad dug deep and bought us a brand new Chevrolet Chevelle.

Though my military duties kept us geographically separated, she loved her trips to visit us in Europe. She loved the lakes and mountains of Bavaria, the crystal shops along what was then the border between East and West Germany, shopping at Harry's in Kaiserslautern for paintings and clocks, touring the Netherlands and seeing working windmills up close, and enjoying the sites and castles aboard the Maine River boat tours.

There is a classic Braden family picture that was taken in Holland at a photo shop similar to the photo shops we have here at various fairs and festivals. This is where, for example, a family can get a photo of them dressed up in western gear. In the case of this Netherlands shop, the ladies all got dressed in classic outfits with white Holland hats, bibs, and wooden shoes. And after they had their picture taken in the shop the owners were agreeable for them to stand outside to also get some family shots. So while my dad and I were inside paying for the professional photos, Mom was outside with my wife then Bonnie and daughters Karen and Sandra . . . still dressed up in their Holland gear; and people began taking pictures of them. One lady came up to Mom and said very slowly and distinctly, "Hello, this is an American quarter for you." The lady thought that they were locals posed outside the shop to have their picture taken for money. Well, the lady with the quarter was a bit surprised when Mom said in perfect American English, "Thank you very much." p.s. They gave all the change from their pictures to the shop owners.

Now Mom had a word in her vocabulary that, in my opinion, she used a bit too much. And I need to say that Ellen didn't experience this. The word was, "No."

On 1993, my wife at the time Bonnie had said in February to Mom that perhaps there should be a party to celebrate Mom and Dad's 50th wedding anniversary in June. Mom said that she didn’t really want to do that. So Bonnie said okay and proceeded to plan a surprise party for that anniversary weekend. Two months later, in April, Mom came back to Bonnie and said that perhaps a party would be a good idea. Bonnie, who was quick on her feet, replied that that was a great idea but the particular weekend had now been booked so that it would have to be two weeks later. (And we all know what was booked with the surprise party for Mom and Dad.) So we would go visit them between April and May and Bonnie and Elaine would go out and my Mom would make all kinds of arrangements for their two-weekend-later anniversary party, and Bonnie would then go behind her back and cancel all the arrangements because everything had really been planned for the original date. And yes they were surprised at the party and had a very good time.

A few years later in 2004 Karen and Cathy flew to Colorado to spend 11 days at a dude ranch. They had invited Elaine, and Elaine had said, "No thank you." But when they arrived and called Nanny and told her that there were horses right outside the window, Nanny said, "Oh, I should have gone." Thankfully that did not deter Karen and Cathy, and that day they made arrangements to get mom to the airport and flown out to Colorado where she had a most enjoyable 11 days with all kinds of dude ranch experiences including white water rafting.

A few years earlier, in 1993, my wife at the time Bonnie had said in February to Mom that perhaps there should be a party to celebrate Mom and Dad's 50th wedding anniversary in June. Mom said that she didn’t really want to do that. So Bonnie said okay and proceeded to plan a surprise party for that anniversary weekend. Two months later, in April, Mom came back to Bonnie and said that perhaps a party would be a good idea. Bonnie, who was quick on her feet, replied that that was a great idea but the particular weekend had now been booked so that it would have to be two weeks later. (And we all know what was booked with the surprise party for Mom and Dad.) So we would go visit them between April and May and Bonnie and Elaine would go out and my Mom would make all kinds of arrangements for their two-weekend-later anniversary party, and Bonnie would then go behind her back and cancel all the arrangements because everything had really been planned for the original date. And yes they were surprised at the party and had a very good time.

After the passing of her husband Bill, Mom was really not that comfortable living in Valrico, Florida, so she traveled back-and-forth between Carmel, where Ellen lived, and Tampa. Ultimately she made the decision to move to Carmel and that was a good decision. I visited her as often as possible and we had many good times together as she was pretty mobile. We would visit downtown Indianapolis and even once we traveled down to southern Indiana for a few days sightseeing. During those visits I stayed in her apartment and was comforted to see how well she got along with the other Rosewalk residents and similarly with the Rosewalk staff.

A few years ago Mom's health declined. She had falls. She broke a hip. And it became evident that she needed round the clock care. Ultimately she found a home here at Green House Cottages. And, as with Rosewalk, she got along with the other Elders and was well-liked by the staff.

As Mom became wheelchair bound and had small but notable falls, Ellen's attention increased way beyond what might be expected of a devoted daughter. On her visits to Mom she often connected us by FaceTime calls. I would be embarrassed when Mom would be so adamant in greeting me, because the Florence Nightingale of the family, Ellen, was right there beside her.

Ellen and I were both very grateful that Mom was such an active participant in her 100th Birthday, and even for her recent 101st. Those were "Praise the Lord" events.

While we knew the time would eventually come, the last two weeks or so of her life were thankfully not traumatic and with but little pain. She was made comfortable and slipped into eternity on May 18th with Tom and Ellen at her side. I suspect that her loss has not really hit me, but I am comforted by the words of my opening prayer, "We celebrate our memories of Elaine and ask that You, Lord, fill that empty void in our hearts."