Who was Julia? by Jan Wilson (Rockwood)

A little late but as promised:

Who was Julia?
By: Jan Wilson

Julia once told me that I was never at a loss for words...but this time I thought she was wrong.
Words couldn’t describe Julia…but then I realized her life and the way she lived her life described her best.
Julia loved her family. Linda, her sister, and Mike, her brother (Precious she called him) were always in her thoughts and in our conversations. She looked forward to visits from Linda and she was so proud of her nephew Rich and nieces, Beth and Carol.
Julia also loved her friends and this means all of you. Every one of you held a special place in her heart and with that, a memory you both shared.
Julia loved animals, especially Tig, her cat. She was definitely a cat person. She had about 10 strays she fed…plus raccoons, possums and any other critter that happened to mosey up on the back porch.
Julia loved country music, proven by her collection of CD’s and she loved golden oldies. She and I sang “Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay” and “My Girl” many times as we cruised Gateway to see what was happening in “Rock Vegas”.
Shopping was always fun. She loved clothes, big purses, gaudy jewelry and shoes. Shoes were her favorite. She adored high heels (because they made her legs look good) but she hated panty hose…go figure.
Julia loved sparkle…rhinestones, glitter. Bling as she called it.
Jewelry was her passion…The bigger the ring, the danglier the earring, the better she liked it.
Julia liked going places. No where special...a picnic, ballgame or an evening ride to the Dairy Queen. Chocolate dip cones could cure just about anything we decided.
She liked getting her nails done, staying up late, sleeping late. She loved TV and old movies.
She loved Rhea County strawberries, boiled corn (especially from Freddie’s corn field), Linda’s potato salad, a glass of blackberry wine, decaf coffee, diet cokes, catfish on Friday nights, winds on Thursday night (both from Ratchet’s at the golf course) and she loved my fried chicken.
Julia didn’t cook much, but she was a good cook. I think Allen found this out when he & Mandy had to fix baked beans for the basketball banquet (something Julia had always done). Julia was in Chicago when I told her Allen had to cook and her response was, “Oh my Lord”.
Julia was very talented...her flower arrangements grace many of our homes. She loved doing weddings as Peggy well knows. Together they did Eric’s wedding and it was awesome. She helped with bridal showers, baby showers, and parties and she was very good at what she did. My Christmas tree will never be the same; I imagine without Julia it will lose some of its sparkle.
Julia was very thoughtful and she loved giving gifts better than receiving them.
And…there were some things Julia didn’t like:
She hated to clean house...took too much time and it was too much like work
She hated hot weather it made her sweat and the humidity did bad things to her natural curly hair
She hated getting gray, getting wrinkles and chin hairs (Girls…don’t we all)
She hated exercise and diets. Fluffy was good she once told me.
Julia was sometimes moody…she liked her alone time. She did her best thinking when she was by herself, she said.
Julia loved her job at Rockwood High. How many of us can actually say that? She thanked LeRoy regularly for giving her the chance to be a part of her alma mater.
The students at RHS meant so much to her. She called them “my kids”. Rockwood High, the staff and the students were also her family.
Julia loved for Lois to visit from Florida. She wanted to share her life with Lois and RHS was a huge part of her life...both graduated from RHS.
She spent time on the phone talking and visiting with her dear friends Sandra and Gail in Knoxville. She would always come home with an adventure to share with me.
She was our Jules…and she was a jewel. Brighter, shinier and more precious than any jewel she ever wore.
She could brighten your day by just walking into the room. And if we keep her memory alive, she will continue to brighten our days.
No tears she once told me…no sadness, only laughter and shared memories.
I think this speaks best about Julia’s life. Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, favorite drink in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and screaming “Yahoo! What a ride”.
So to you dear friend, laughter it will be...memories shared celebrating our time together and incidentally old girl, “Yahoo…It’s been a great ride”.