Bob lost a good friend today. Her name was Boni. A friend from his California days that he’d carried in his heart all these years. She was 11 years his senior but together, along with his buddy Pat, the three of them had a special quality that only friendships can bring.
Bob met Boni while working at the Caltech Library in Pasadena, California. She was a librarian in the archives department and loved books, spending days reading, studying, and researching whatever her job required. Bob loved working with her and from the time I met him, heard story after story of the friendship they shared, so when we got married, I wasn’t surprised that the first trip we took would be to Caltech so I could meet her and see the places matching the stories he told.
When I met Boni, I saw a person that personified love and zest for life like no one I’d ever met. She had a big smile and a warm embrace that matched her love for Jesus and she loved to talk about Him to whomever she met. Walking with a cane due to a severe hip abnormality, she walked slow and sometimes painfully, but I was amazed at her energy and optimism, treating every day as a gift because she could. Boni, for sure, was a treasure – I could see that myself – and from that day forward we kept in touch through Christmas letters for more than 30 years.
As each year passed, the Christmas cards would come – a one page typed letter telling of her work at Caltech, visits to Spain, and family news. Then she’d sign the bottom with simply, “Sunshine” and Christmas felt complete.
Then the letters stopped, but we didn’t know why. The last one we’d received was 2009 but we figured it was just due to busy schedules or maybe extended travel. 2010 went by, then 2011 and Bob decided to give her a call. Looking up her name and finding it disconnected, he went on the internet to find another number but instead of a connection – found a notice saying she’d gone to be with the Lord.
How do you deal with news like that? With the hole in your heart that aches for the loss? It’s hard, that’s for sure, and it reminds us how fragile life can really be. Earlier today, Bob and I passed our church on the way to the movies. A funeral was in session and we wondered who had passed. For a moment we drove in silence, then talked about Bob’s mom and the difference she made in our lives. Not everyone knew her, but those she touched, will always remember her for loving ways.
That would be Boni. A life who loved to live and lived to love.
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