Share this pageJune and Valentine's Day - 2003 - Revisited
- Details
- Published on Thursday, 23 January 2014 16:33
- Written by Stanton O. Berg
(June and Stan at a Forensic Conference 2003)
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The year 2003 was June’s seventh (7th) year of her twelve (12) year journey into the shadows of Alzheimer’s…this was a year that the disease was starting to take control of June’s life…June’s writing and even her signature was taking a hit…June’s writing was slow, difficult and shaky…sentence construction and proper word order were hard for June to achieve…my heart would go out to her as I watched her struggle with what had once been so easy for her…
This was the last year in which June was able to give cards for occasions such as Valentines Day, Birthday’s, Anniversaries and Christmas…June required much assistance from me in order to complete a simple short greeting with her signature…I addressed all the envelopes for her.
Unbeknown to me, June had purchased Valentines Day cards in the prior year of 2002 and put then away in an envelope marked “Valentines for 2003”…as might be expected, the disease took over and June forgot all about her previously purchased “Valentines for 2003” or even where she had placed them for safe keeping. They were not found until five years later in the year 2008 and just before Valentine’s Day that year…(It was in 2008 that June died in October. I found June’s Valentines by accident among other cards June had purchased in earlier years…but that is another story…
June was one who picked out greeting cards based on the message inside and to a much lesser degree. the pictures or color designs of the cards…she spent much time reading cards and selected only those that represented her own thoughts and emotions…the last card received and signed by June for Valentines Day in 2003 was a card with a most beautiful message…for me it was a very humbling message of love and left me feeling: “how could I deserve such love”…
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It might
sound sappy to say
that your name
is music to my ears…
But it is.
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“It might
Make you laugh
to hear
that the world around me
plays a love song
when you’re near…
But it does!”
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“I might
seem like
some hopeless romantic
but I am in love,”
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HAPPY
Valentine’s Day
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(June’s shaky signature note followed)
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“Our live me, to my husband!”
“June K. Berg”
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Alzheimer’s had taken control…while June’s spoken word seemed normal to the listener… what June attempted to say in writing was thwarted and garbled…such is the effect of this terrible disease…June’s written note and words were probably intended to have read:
“To my husband with Love…
June”
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Thank you so much June for that last beautiful Valentine you gave me in 2003…Happy 2014 Valentine’s Day sweetheart…I thank God everyday for blessing me by bringing you into my life and for your unconditional and special love…I will love you until the sands of time stop their endless trickle…there will never be another June!
Stan
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(Published in the Minneapolis Star - Tribune, Lovelines on Valentines Day Friday 14 February 2014)
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Reader's Comments
Debbie Larsen - Buffalo, Minnesota - (13 February 2014): "Happy Valentines Day Stan, your Angel June is so connected to you on this special day. Let the love shine...A true love is priceless. Stan you will be with June one day. The reunion will be worth that magical moment. God Bless."
Sue Strayer Orcutt - Maple Gove, Minnesota - (13 February 2014): "So beautiful. Sometimes after reading all the beautiful messages, it brings tears to my eyes. I see how much you miss her. What a beautiful lady."
Bertha Dusenberry - Lafayette, Ohio - (13 February 2014): "How beautiful Stan.You and June had a special kind of love. How precious.You will be together one day. June is watching over you dear Stan, I am sure of that. What a beautiful lady. God Bless you Stan.
Kim Monery - Chichester, West Sussex, United Kingdom - (14 February 2014): "Just lovely."
June Mac - Darlington, United Kingdom - (14 February 2014): "Awww thats lovely."
Helaine Berman - Prescott, Arizona - (14 February 2014): "You are very blessed to have so many wonderful memories."
Beverley Hickey - London, United Kingdom - (14 February 2014): "Stan I have shared on Linkedin "The Purple Angels" this is beautiful."
Carmen Almasan - Chuj-Napoca, Romania - (14 February 2014): "Great Stan, undying love is what keeps us going. Philip Choban."
Mary Jill Bringgold Duncan - Cannon Falls, Minnesota - (14 February 2014): "Yours is a true love story, Stan."
Carolyn Tafolla Patton - Wenatchee, Washington - (15 February 2014): "You are a handsome couple. I would bet you have a large bag of beautiful memories with your beauty."
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June's Passing
After an almost 12 year journey into the shadows of Alzheimer's, early one morning in late October 2008, an exhausted June felt God's gentle touch on her shoulder and heard the words: "Come Home June!" As June lay like a wounded soldier on a battlefield, it was God's Angels that ushered June into a Heavenly Kingdom to the sound of a chorus of Angels...and into June's new home, a "Mansion on the Hilltop", where there is no pain, nor illness nor tears...June's funeral notice as published in the Minneapolis Star in October 2008 can be seen on this website in the drop down menu under the "In Memoriam" label - just Click on:
"June K. (Rolstad) Berg - In Memoriam"