My mom's obit

I was going to post the link to my mother's obituary, but don't trust the local newspaper to keep the link active for very long. So, here it is for those I didn't already email it to. I wrote it in New York Times formal style, though our local paper will run pretty much anything you give them. I also found out that now obituaries are no longer treated as news, but as ads. You pay by the word and by how many days you want the obit to run. Four days' worth was going to cost us nearly $1,000, so we did things the old-fashioned way and only ran it one day. That experience was eye-opening and made me feel kind of old, for some reason. But then, I've been feeling old for about three months now. I need a prolonged stay somewhere warm and secluded, so I can shed this shell of exhaustion and strain, and emerge revitalized.

Good news: I feel like writing again, so at some point in the next little while, this blog will go back to being a natter about writing, the benefits and downsides of writing groups, the devious things we do to avoid writing, and so on, in addition to including the usual menu of grief ramblings. Oh joy! Oh yeah, I logged on to post my mom's obit. Here 'tis:

Karys, Jevine

Jevine Karys, painter, jazz vocalist, restaurateur, mother of five and beloved friend, died Friday, April 20, at her home in Santa Barbara after a brief second battle with lung cancer. She was 70.

Throughout the last years of her life, Mrs. Karys was a prolific water color painter whose landscape and still life works adorn many homes in California and in Massachusetts. She drew her inspiration from historic scenes, whimsical groupings and floral displays, but also painted images of peoples’ homes upon request.

Born Carla Jevine Tidwell on March 8, 1937, Mrs. Karys was the daughter of Olive Naomi and Carl Clinton Tidwell. Jevine’s younger sister, Tina, was her lifelong friend. Jevine graduated La Jolla High School in 1955, married Howard B. Heath, and welcomed daughter Lisa and son Franklin. The Heaths were divorced, after which Jevine met and married her lifelong love Christopher J. Karys. They had three more children, April, John, and Christine.

During her teens and twenties, Mrs. Karys developed an enduring love of jazz, singing and dancing to the greats of the time. In her 30s and 40s, Mrs. Karys was a vocalist with jazz ensembles in Santa Barbara, and sat in with her dear musician friends’ performances from time to time throughout the rest of her life.

The Karyses reared their five children with love, discipline, respect and creativity. Mrs. Karys’ experiences cooking for her large family came into play later in her life, when she opened and ran Jevine’s Deli in three successive locations with family members helping to develop the menu and run the business. Later, she joined her husband in real estate, retiring upon his death in February of 2000. Mrs. Karys’ love of travel took her to Oregon, Washington, New Mexico, Massachusetts, Canada, Greece, France, Mexico, and lastly to Italy, where she journeyed just before her final diagnosis of cancer.

Mrs. Karys is survived by her sister Chris (Tina) Smith of Rifle, CO; daughter and son-in-law Lisa and David Karys-Schiff of Lompoc, CA; sons Frank and John Karys of Santa Barbara; daughter April Karys of San Francisco; daughter and son-in-law Christine and Jeremiah Sobenes of Oak View, CA and their children Chelsea Wilson and Emma and Eva Sobenes; niece Cristal Martinez and her husband Ric Lantz of Madison, WI; and nephew Eric Smith of Rifle, CO.

A memorial celebration of Mrs. Karys’ life will take place at 1 p.m. Saturday, April 28, at Welch Ryce Haider funeral chapel, 15 E. Sola St., Santa Barbara. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be sent to Hospice Care & Visiting Nurse of Santa Barbara, 222 E. Canon Perdido St.