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| Shirley and Robert Bissonnette |
On January 10, 2019, I officially became an orphan. With the death of my Mother, a whole generation of my family is now gone. Those of us who were the children of the 40's and 50's are now the next senior generation.
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Shirley Bissonnette and Tom Bissonnette styling!
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Over the past ten years, since the death of my father, my sister and I have been the caretaker for my very independent mom of 96. She has lived alone since the death of my dad in January of 2009. When dad passed away, my sister and I questioned how long that mom would survive. She and my dad were attached at the hip and had been partners in their marriage for 63 years. However, this strong lady was unwilling to give in to life and continued on her way through the details of daily living.
She was a very independent caring and thoughtfull person. She continued to be interested in today's national politics as well as the local politics. My mother never really knew her parents as her mother died when she was one year old and her father not long after that. She grew up under the guidance of her grandmother and cousins. She was a big city girl.
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Shirley Bissonnette
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My sister and I grew up in a two tenament home in the suburbs, which was owned first by my grandparents and then my parents. When our grandparents lived downstairs from us a common communication practice was easily banging on the water pipe to alert them that we needed to discuss something. Each would open the back door and have that discussion in the hallway.
When my grandparents retired, moved to a livin position at Groton School in Groton, Ma., our cousins moved into the house. We were lucky to have a home with extended family.
My mother and father worked very hard to make a good life for both my sister and I. We both had the opportunity to be the first in our family to attend college. Mom and Dad held education as a high priority in our home. Both my sister and I also new the work world holding jobs once we were in high school. We certainly learned the lesson of being self-sufficient.
