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Published March 03, 2008 08:40 pm - A SHELLEY TERRY colulmn Aunt Esther gave family legacy of caring, sweet memories My sister and I were fortunate to have a childhood blessed with aunts and uncles who loved us, and who we got to spend hours of quality time with because we lived next door to our grandparents in Lenox Township. Nearly every weekend, we saw these wonderful grown-ups, and amazingly, each one took time to make a difference in our lives. Sometimes, someone makes a big difference in small ways. Such was the case with my Aunt Esther (Sullivan) Hawkins, who died Feb. 20. She was 85. I’m told that as a little girl Aunt Esther played nurse with her dolls while being hassled and teased by three, younger, rambunctious brothers — and much later, a baby sister (our mother). Throughout her entire life, Aunt Esther frequently talked about those spirited brothers and their childhood antics. “Windsor wasn’t so bad, she would say, but of course, he was younger. But Harold and Rollin” — and she would shake her head. Rollin kicked a bucket out from under her and Harold teased her... the stories went on and on. I had to laugh, because I so enjoyed these stories about my dear uncles. Just a day or two before she died, she was telling me another humorous anecdote, when I asked her, “Well, Aunt Esther which one was worse?” She stopped, looked thoughtful for a moment and said, “Rollin. I’d have to say Rollin.” Then I remembered a story Uncle Rollin LOVED to tell about Aunt Esther, and now I know why! Seems Rollin and Harold just couldn’t resist going into Aunt Esther’s bedroom just to hear her holler. She would yell, “MA! The boys are bothering me!” One day, she made a sign for her bedroom door that read, “Quarantine. Stay Out! My Dolls Have the Measles.” Oh, how my Uncle Rollin would laugh when he told that story over and over again, adding that he and my Uncle Harold only teased Esther MORE because of that sign. “Measles!” Uncle Rollin would say and laugh. “She said her dolls had MEASLES!” Funny thing was that later in life, other than her children or grandchildren, she would rather receive a visit from her siblings than anyone else. Aunt Esther and I also talked about the one thing we had in common despite our 35-year age difference — we both were very close to our grandmothers. She loved her Grandma Somers. She would say she liked nothing more than going to stay with Grandma. It was quiet at her grandma’s house and, of course, Grandma would spoil her. (Not to say my Grandma Sullivan spoiled me, of course!) 
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