Feb. 10, 2010

I did not get to go visit their graves yesterday as it snowed all day. I will go as soon as possible.

I again received cards from Kim and Cheryl. Such good friends. So kind of them to remember. Email from Lori. She always remembers, too.

Korina, our neighbor, also mentioned that she had been thinking of them. She said she always remembers hearing Dad outside walking down the street and the crunching of the snow.

I parked up on the side street last night as Dad would always do when it snowed, so he could get up the I Street hill.

Love you Mom and Dad.

Susie

p.s. The Indianapolis Colts were in the Super Bowl on Feb. 7th this year. (They did not win.) The last time they were in it was Feb. 4, 2007--5 days before Mom and Dad died. I watched the game with them and they won--it was the last time we all spent time together. I will never forget it.

3rd Anniversary

Remembering Mom and Dad today....

Breidenbach — Paul A. Breidenbach, 83, Bedford, died at 2:31 p.m. Friday, as a result of an automobile accident on U.S. 50, approximately one mile east of the U.S. 50/Ind. 60 junction, near Huron. Born Nov. 16, 1923, in Belleville, Ill., he was the son of Aloys Breidenbach and Barbara (Aydt) Breidenbach. He married Elizabeth J. “Betty” Drehobl on June 14, 1952, at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in Bedford. He was an electrical engineer at GM Powertrain in Bedford for 37 years, retiring in 1989. He was a 1941 graduate of Bedford High School and a 1950 graduate of Purdue University. He was a member of St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in Bedford; the Knights of Columbus Council No. 1166 (3rd Degree); and Past Grand Knight and Assembly No. 1921 (4th Degree). He was a U.S. Army veteran of World War II; a member of the American Legion Gillen Post No. 33 and an avid golfer. Survivors include two sons, Joe Breidenbach and his wife Judy of Brainerd, Minn., and Fr. John Breidenbach of Jasper; one daughter, Susie Breidenbach of Oolitic; two grandchildren, Jeffrey Paul Breidenbach, U.S. Coast Guard, Port Angeles, Wash.. and Jonna Lea Dunst and husband David of Newago, Mich.; one great-granddaughter, Margaret Louise Dunst; three brothers, William “Bill” Breidenbach and wife Pat of Mesa, Ariz., Tom Breidenbach of Phoenix, Ariz., and Joseph Briden and wife Mary, Phoenix, Ariz; and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents. Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church with Fr. Rich Litzau O.P. officiating. Burial will follow in Cresthaven Memory Gardens in Bedford. Friends may call from 3-8 p.m. Tuesday at the Ferguson-Lee Funeral Home in Bedford, with a Rosary service at 7:30 p.m. Memorial contributions may be made to the International Crane Foundation or to the St. Vincent de Paul Society in Bedford.

Breidenbach — Elizabeth J. “Betty” Breidenbach, 77, Bedford, died at 2:31 p.m. Friday, as a result of an automobile accident on U.S. 50, approximately one mile east of the U.S. 50/Ind. 60 junction, near Huron. She was born March 29, 1929, in Bedford, the daughter of Vincent F. Drehobl and Mary Alberta (Bratcher) Drehobl. She married Paul A. Breidenbach on June 14, 1952, at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in Bedford. She had worked at Ingall Stone Company, Indiana Bell Telephone and Indiana Employment Security Division, all of Bedford. She was a 1947 graduate of Bedford High School. She was a member of St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church and Ladies of Columbus; a former member of Kappa Kappa Sigma Sorority; a volunteer with the St. Vincent de Paul Society; and loved bird watching, traveling and landscape/gardening work. Survivors include two sons, Joe Breidenbach and his wife Judy of Brainerd, Minn., and Fr. John Breidenbach of Jasper; one daughter, Susie Breidenbach of Oolitic; two grandchildren, Jeffrey Paul Breidenbach, U.S. Coast Guard, Port Angeles, Wash.. and Jonna Lea Dunst and husband David of Newago, Mich.; one great-granddaughter, Margaret Louise Dunst; and one brother, Robert F. Drehobl and wife Beverly of Bedford. She was preceded in death by her parents and one brother, Albert “Bud” Drehobl. Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church with Fr. Rich Litzau O.P. officiating. Burial will follow in Cresthaven Memory Gardens in Bedford. Friends may call from 3-8 p. m. Tuesday at the funeral home, with a rosary service at 7:30 p.m. Memorial contributions may be made to the International Crane Foundation or to the St. Vincent de Paul Society in Bedford

Miss you Mom and Dad. Love you.

Susie

Well, it has been a long time since I wrote anything here. Made it through Dad's birthday, my birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas and the New Year.

At Thanksgiving, John came up for dinner. We cooked a turkey in the crock pot again and it turned out fine.

In early December, Susan and I decided to try and make Mom's butter spritz Christmas cookies. She made them every year as far back as I can remember. We got out her old cookie press (the box for the steel discs says 1967!), got the recipe from Judy and gave it a shot. They turned out great!



They looked and tasted just like I remember. I hadn't had them since her last Christmas in 2006. I cried when I ate the first one. These cookies were HER THING. She would make several batches and then guard them and not let anybody eat any! She was saving them for company, she would say. But also, as we learned, you never know when you won't get a good batch. We tried to make a second one and it turned out awful. We made it just the same way--was the dough too warm? Too cold? For whatever reason, the cookies would not come out right. They tasted fine, but kept sticking to the cookie press. I was determined to make one more batch because I wanted to send some to Jeff. I was not going to send him ugly ones! So, we made one more batch and lo and behold, it turned out fine. Who knows? But I understand now why she wouldn't let us have any! We made fun of her, of course, because when Christmas was over, she'd have a bunch of cookies left! :-) Everybody loved those cookies. I hope that now the tradition will carry on. We gave some to John. He told us that he found one of Mom's cookies in a long forgotten tin he had saved. I think he said he saved that cookie!

I got kind of sad on New Year's Eve. Just missing Mom and Dad and the way things used to be.
Things change and life goes on. I know this. But I still miss them so much and I want us to have a big family Christmas like we used to have. Those days are gone. This year it was just me, Susan and John for Christmas dinner. Now Susan's parents are both gone, too. Susan made a ham and it was all very good.

I bought a Christmas Wreath to decorate their graves. John and I went out to Cresthaven on Christmas Day. I did not cry, but it is hard to see their names on the grave markers. It still doesn't seem real to me at times.

Love you Mom and Dad. Miss you.

Susie