Marie Barnard Smith Lilly

On November 1, the 11th anniversary of her death, as well as All Saints Day, I was thinking of Marie Lilly, my wonderful mother-in-law. I wrote to my family, suggesting that we have a glass of wine with dinner and reflect on all the many ways she nurtured us and exercised her citizenship. She and I never agreed on the greatness of Ronald Reagan, but she would be proud to see his newly-erected statue outside National Airport. Whenever we pass it, I think of her. Whenever we use the cut crystal or other things that she passed on to us, we think of her love of beauty and the many ways she cared for us. And how proud she would be of her three great-grandchildren!

At the Peabody Museum at Harvard, I recently saw this amazing “Dia de los Muertos” display in an exhibit case. In Mexico ancestors are remembered on All Saints Day with their favorite foods and objects, a colorful way to remember the departed in vivid detail. So I put together a small assemblage of things that remind us of Marie. Shelby says that driving by the Home Furnishings Market in Dallas always reminds of the things her grandmother bought us there. How lucky my kids were to have such a loving grandmother.