June update

May ended on a tough note for our family. My grandmother, Emma Warwick, passed away on May 31st at the Pioneers Home at the age of 93. Emma was a true Alaskan Pioneer and she had a significant impact on my life. I am thankful that she got to meet Rory and that I was fortunate enough to have her in my life for over 34 years. We will miss her a great deal. Following is a short story about my grandma that was written by my Aunt Sis.

Emma Miller Warwick would have been 94 years old in July. She
preferred to be called “Em”; some people called her “Emmy”. At the end of her
long life, she kept the same tough spirit that had always guided her. Her life
was not an easy one, but that wasn’t what she sought. Emma was a striver, and
fully engaged with the world around her. Her aim in life was to be the best she
could be and to always do the best she could do, improving as she went along.
These are the qualities she most admired in others. And it was in this regard
that Emma inspired her friends and relatives.

Emma was a child of old-country immigrants, and welcomed
the challenge to solidly establish her family in this new country. She saw the
necessity of family support and loyalty in surviving the harshness of Alaska.
She knew that to “get ahead”, an education was imperative, and Emma never
doubted what she needed to do. Her mother, Mary, was unable to get an education
but encouraged Emma. No doubt Emma’s striving for success was on behalf of her
mother as well as herself.

In all the many photographs taken of Emma throughout her
life, she smiles and laughs, displaying her love of life for the official
record. Just as telling are the friends and family she continually photographed,
smiling at her and her camera, their love and affection forever captured on
film. These photos are a testimony to the strong bonds shared by those in the
Alaskan community, and their warm friendships. Emma traveled far and wide, but
her home was always here. She documented as much of her 93 years as possible and
made sure to share those pictures with as many people as she could. Emma was
still working on her photographs at age 90.

Photography might have been Emma’s second great love. Her
first great love was Andy Warwick, and to judge from the photos the feeling was
mutual. Emma would never seem as content and happy as she did in those years
with Andy. They mined at Livengood and Yukon Territory and Emma embraced the
life with energy and commitment; whether it was cooking for the camp, driving a
truck, killing a bear, or changing diapers. She most likely kept the books, as
well. Andy’s sudden death in a small plane crash was a devastating tragedy. She
soldiered on. Any decision thereafter was made on behalf of her children and
their future, and any adversity made her tougher. She found strength in her
Catholic faith. She didn’t forget how to laugh and have a good time. Emma was
one determined individual, and even time didn’t diminish that.

In between work, family, and church, Emma focused on things
that held an abiding interest for her: reading and keeping informed, politics,
and fashion and design. An acknowledged clothes-horse, she eventually saved 194
of her favorite blouses, and tried to take as many as she could to the Pioneer
Home when she moved.

Emma loved hearing about what and how her children and
grandchildren were doing, and was proud of them all, whether they took her
advice or not. The same can be said for the rest of her family and friends; they
were all very important to her, and she looked forward to all the get-togethers.

Toward the end of her life when Emma reluctantly admitted that she
needed assistance, she moved her residence to the Pioneer Home, where she not
surprisingly got along well. She made a point of putting the staff through their
paces, demanding that they adhere to her particular wishes-within reason, of
course. They rose to the occasion as the consummate professionals they are,
engendering appreciative respect from Emma. That respect was apparently mutual,
as indicated by a note at the bottom of Emma’s chart: “Marches to her own
drummer”.

We will miss you, Emmy.

Aside from this sad news, life is moving ahead for us. We finally closed on a home after spending the last two years searching for the perfect place. The home is in the neighborhood that I grew up in; so much of my wonderful childhood was spent in the “hood” with my lifelong friends and I hope for the same for Rory. It is also just down the road from the Warwick Grandparents, the Anderson/Frank Grandparents, the Anderson Greatgrandparents and losts of friends! We move in on August 1st which will be about the time that Rory is starting to get seriously mobile.

In addition, Yuri and I just celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary. Time really is moving quickly...I know that lots of people say this but, minus the deaths of my most cherished loved ones (especially Zach who went much too early), we couldn't be more fortunate.

Love,

Sydney

FSW Water Walk and Run. Top Picture: Rory and I posing with my dad. He pushed Rory and they sprinted at the end of the race (even though we were supposed to be walking) to beat me by over a minute. Bottom Picture: Rory and I (again) posing with Jimmy Dodson and Heather Husband - they were the "run" portion of the "walk and run".


Rory about to take a big bite out of the tissue paper that I was using to wrap a baby shower gift for Courtney Roberts (Harter).

Petra left for Juneau this weekend and Rory wanted to go with her. Petra is spending 5 weeks in Juneau to attend classes for her Master's degree in Administration (I'm not sure that I have this right...I know that it is focused on education and will enable her to be a principal).

Yuri and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary on the bank of the Chena River last weekend. Yuri packed a picnic and even though it was quite cool, we had a great time just hanging out. Rory had her first sleepover with the Warwick Grandparents and we took advantage of not being responsible for another human being. This picture was taken after each of us polishing off a bottle of champagne...ugh...felt terrible the next morning.

This picture was taken as Jesse (my brother) and Petra were leaving for the airport to go to Europe for two weeks. They cut their trip a week short when our Grandma passed away but regardless, I understand that they had a great time visitng our great friend, master glass artist- Martin Janecky and his girlfriend, Rockstar - Lenka, in Prague.

I am convinced that Yuri thought he had Swine Flu...here he is hanging out with Rory...wearing a mask that wouldn't even keep the flu from spreading anyways!

Ok...you will all think I am crazy but...

Sometimes when I am really tired I hold my arm in the air (just like Rory is doing here)...I have a "sweet spot" that allows my arm to float without actually holding it up. So...Rory must have inherited this from me...very strange.

We attended my cousin, Philip Warwick's graduation last month. Rory loved watching all the people at the Carlson Center, but, after about two hours she got a little restless. Philip is taking off to play college football in Texas in the Fall - we are all very proud of him.

I bought Yuri a pinapple corer for Christmas last year...he is still amazed at its ability. Here he is taking an "artsy" shot of Rory through the remains of the pinapple...boy...we are a strange bunch.

And, finally...Rory is a very vocal baby with lots of coos and giggles. Unfotunately, she goes totally blank when the cameras are around. Here is a short video clip that I was finally able to capture...her laugh, albeit short, is adorable and makes us smile a hundred times a day.