Marti has always been one of my favorite people. Marti and I have had a close relationship since she came back from all those years in Florida. We spent many an hour together at Bonnieville, at Aunt Tenie's, at Glenmary, and finally at my brother, Jeff's.  She always called me Lana Lee--the only person on the planet who has ever called me that.  I loved it!

My husband, Don, and I would take my Mom to Bonnieville to visit Aunt Jo.  We would always stay several hours, and Marti would be the perfect hostess and make us all feel so welcome. We would sit around that litttle kitchen table and laugh and tell stories.  Even after Aunt Jo passed away, Don and I would visit Marti at Bonnieville every chance we got.  It was one of our favorite places to go.  

One year, Kelly hosted a big family gathering at Bonnieville and we even brought Aunt Tenie down to visit.  There were out-of-town cousins from all over. It was one of the few times so many of us had been together in one place. Kelly and Marti did a fantastic job keeping us all fed and laughing.  

When Marti began taking care of Aunt Tenie, Don and I would take Mom over to visit real often. Tenie loved Marti and Marti loved Tenie.  They both could spin a yarn and make us laugh. We always had a good time with them both when we visitied. 

After Don and I moved to Michigan, I did not get to see Marti so often, but we stayed in touch by email. Marti was always a thinker and a seeker, and she was a fantastic writer.  I always told her she should write down all the things she has experienced in life.  I know she could have written a really profound and funny book!  

At one time, Marti moved in to Glenmary to help the new manager there.  Lena let Marti live in the upstairs attic and Marti turned it into a beautiful and gracious retreat.  Whenever Don and I had to come into town to take care of something at Glenmary or when we were heading South to see our grandson in Florida, Marti let us stay with her up in that attic retreat.  She gave us her comfy bed and she slept on the tiny chaise.  That was Marti.  Always the gracious and generous hostess.

We would talk for hours, mostly family stories or stories about relationships.  One of the most touching things to me is that she remembered my father.  She said she always had a crush on him and thought he was the most handsome man she ever knew.  She was only eight when he died, but she remembered him with great affection.  That was a treasure to me.

Marti made some wonderful friends while she was at Glenmary and she and Lena got really close. Those friends held a party for Marti the day before she passed.  They honored her and their friendship with her.  They drank White Russians and listened to Bob Seger.  Marti would have had a good time!

After Marti left Glenmary, she moved to Clarkson, KY to live with my brother, Jeff and his wife, Arlene, and Arlene's mom, Leona, who needed care.  Marti stayed with Leona until the end. 

Whenever, Don and I were passing South, we would stop and spend the night with all of them in Clarkson.  The house was on a pretty piece of land and once in a while, Marti and I would walk the land together and talk.  it wasn't easy for Marti because she always had so much pain in her back and hip, but she loved nature and loved to have the time to just talk by ourselves. 

Jeff and Marti were like brother and sister for years.  They stayed with each other, went on trips together, and generally kept each other laughing through some hard times.  While Marit was living at Clarkson, they had an unhappy falling out.  I don't know any of the details, but I know Jeff really missed having Marti in his life.  He hoped for a reconciliation and told me often how much he loved her and missed her. He was devastated when he found out she had passed away.  Two people here in Michigan have lost someone really special to us both.

Marti always made me laugh, and for some un-knowable reason, I could make her laugh.  We had such a good time together!   She was one of the smartest people I know, and her razor sharp wit was a show-stopper! In all of our hours together, we forged a close bond.  We were so different.  We had different beliefs about so many things, but we really enjoyed and respected each other.  She was a good friend.

Marti was diagnosed with a rare blood disease while she was in Clarkson.  She submitted to some treatment, but did not trust what the doctors wanted to do.  She did extensive research into her disease and felt confident  that with minimal  interventions, she could stay on top of it.  She was positive and upbeat and unafraid.  She was a fighter and not one to bow to the medical establishment.  Marti and I talked on the phone a great deal after her diagnosis, and she and Susie stayed in close contact as well.  Marti had good instincts and had been a ferocious advocate for her Mom when dealing with the medical establishment.  She knew how to navigate the halls of medical power.  But she never planned on a stroke where she would be unable to advocate for herself.

Through the time of caregiving Arlene's mom, Marti's daughter was changing up her life. Stephani and her husband moved from Georgia to the state of Washington.  They had bought a beautiful home and wanted Marti to live there with them.  After Marti's caregiving duties were over, she was headed to a new life with her daughter and her little grandson, Aiden.  She was so excited, and was looking forward to a long life of helping Stephani and watching Aiden grow.

Marti and I did not stay in touch very much after she went to Washington.  She was happy and busy wit her new life.  I was happy and busy babysitting my new granddaughter every day.  But we did text often when Marti's sister, Susie and her husband, Dave, went through a harrowing experience when Gatlinburg burst into flames destroying so much of the area.  Marti and I texted real often to keep each other updated on the situation.  

 After all of that calmed down Marti, and I only communicated at Christmas and New Years.  The last text I got from her was a precious picture of Aiden and the news that, starting January 6th, she would be caring for him M-F while Stephani attended college full-time. She texted. "Things are about to get interesting. LOL."  Marti had the stroke on January 13th.

It is hard to lose a good friend. It is hard to lose someone who shares so many of the same memories of family.  It is hard to lose someone who is such a good story teller and such a good listener to your stories. It just does not seem possible that we will never hear Marti's raucous laugh again or experience her razor sharp wit in this world, but I know she is making the angels laugh in heaven, and I know I will see her again. I love you Marti, my good friend.

Lana Lee (Bell) Jackson