Saturday, April 5, 2014
I will miss my good friend, Dorothy. We met over 40 years ago as young Army wives while Steve and Jerry were at Fort Monmouth. Dorothy was the first military wife I met and bonded with. I remember going to an Officers' Wives Club Welcome Coffee with Dorothy. The base commander's wife welcomed all the new wives to the post, and then reminded us that at coffees we should be wearing hats. Dorothy and I looked at each other and said the same thing, "I don't own a hat." We didn't go to any more coffees...we represented the "new age" of Army wife who broke stereotype of what an Army wife was. We worked; we spoke our minds. And we were both from NY...how could we not feel we'd found a true friend in each other?
Friends over all these years, our bond was always there. We shared similar moving stories. And both tried to adopt at the same time. I sent a baby announcement in Nov of 1975 to Dorothy and Jerry who were overseas at the time. Two months later, I opened a card Dorothy had sent and my first thought was, "Why did she send my announcement back?" After looking at the inside of the card, I realized she'd sent an announcement of Scott's arrival. We'd sent the same card announcing our adoptions of our children.
How could we not share such a closeness all these years?
I'll miss her laughter, honest conversations, and caring attitude. The last time I spoke to her was about two weeks ago. I knew how ill she was, but our one minute conversation will always be something I'll remember. She was so tired and ill, but said a few words to me. I told her to save her strength and get better...we had a trip to plan.
Over the past year, we'd talked about taking a trip together once she was feeling better. It was a goal we'd planned. Now it saddens me so much to know that won't be possible.
Again, I'll miss my good friend.
Condolences to Jerry, Scott, Tami and Fallon. Dorothy's too soon departure is heartbreaking. I hope wonderful memories of her will help with the grief of her passing.
Steve and Marianne Oliva
