A Celebration of Pinky
Pauline Abigail Casslerjones
September 13, 1931 – March 7, 2008
[See Memorial Services Page for details on June 2nd Interment of Ashes & Memorial Service in Johnstown, PA]
Our dearest Pinky was so many things to all of us…daughter, mother, grandmother, friend, teacher, companion, wise elder, and so much more. We invite you to join us in celebrating her life, sharing your thoughts, memories and blessings.
As you know, Pinky had been battling a degenerative brain condition for about 16 years and has been on hospice for the last year or so. For the past five years she lived at a wonderful home in Boulder, Colorado – Anam Chara – where she spent time daily with her daughters Elise and Suzanne, and granddaughter McKenzie, with frequent visits from her out of town daughters Kathy, Amy and Wendy, and grandsons Miguel and Enrique. While she could no longer speak with words, Pinky was a teacher and mother to the very end, communicating her wisdom and warmth through her eyes and her smile.
Pinky died peacefully at home. Elise and Suzanne were blessed to have spent the last day by her side, holding her hands as she drew her last breath. The family gathered in Boulder to celebrate her passage; with the entire Anam Chara community, we gathered in the living room to share stories, music, food, tears and the love that Pinky showered so generously.
It was Pinky’s wish to be cremated and buried between her parents in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The family accompanied Pinky’s body to the crematorium, the final farewell, and then took a trip into the mountains that Pinky loved so much before picking up her ashes.
This summer, we will do a two-part family pilgrimage – first to Kansas City on May 10-11, to celebrate Pinky’s life with her community of friends there, and then on to Johnstown from May 31-June 2, where we will bury Pinky’s ashes at Grandview Cemetery and reconnect with Pinky’s relatives and friends there. You are all invited to attend either of these events; we will post additional details on this website about specific celebration times.
We invite you to use this website to celebrate Pinky’s life with us. We hope you will add your stories, memories and blessings on the tribute page or your comments on the photo page. Although we can’t receive your photos on this website, if you have some you would like to share, please e-mail them to katherinejones@cableone.net and we will post them for you.
Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there. I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow
I am the diamond glint on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you wake in the morning hush
I am the swift, uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circling flight
I am the soft starlight at night.
Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there. I do not sleep.
–Joyce Fossen
