Eileen was my only living aunt and we met once, 3-years ago. Unfortunately, I missed that opportunity with her husband Charles. We were able to speak though, which made the meeting with Eileen even possible. Charles was my fathers younger brother, and before our first phone call, had no idea I existed. His brother Al had a child, a son. Problem was nobody knew, including Al. Charles knew his brother liked women; he even brought them by the house to introduce them occasionally which did not please Charles. The fact Al was married didn’t seem to be a deterrent either. One of those women was my mother. Fast forward to the point in 2015 that my curiosity finally collided with Ancestry.com. Even after 3-years of detective work on that site and several others, I still needed the pure luck of DNA to offer a name. That name was Al and it came in the form of an obituary from 2005. My best search option from here was a name on the obituary; a brother named Charles. That is how we connected. Eileen answered my phone call and handed it to her husband. He could have responded many different ways. He could have laughed, or sworn at me or just hung up, but he didn’t, he listened. For an hour we talked, he asked questions and answered mine, and he concluded I was the real deal. We exchanged information. Within a week the care packages started. First pictures, then personal effects started coming. After several months of this, I knew I needed to meet them in person. All the mementos were thoughtful, but I wanted the stories and pictures around them. This was May 2017. On November 30, 2017, Charles passed away. His health had been poor for sometime and Eileen’s wasn’t much better. She had spent the last several months in hospital and rehab beside her husband, leading the family to believe she wasn’t going to make it either. She proved them wrong. By February 2018; with the help of a in-home caregiver, she was able to be home and resume a reasonably active life. At this point I knew I had to meet her in person—soon, before I lost my chance. My liaison for this trip was their son Robin whom I had been communicating with throughout our newfound relationship, and aside from his father, the only blood relative on my fathers side I had ever spoken with. In November 2018, my wife Lisa and I boarded a plane to Portland Oregon. We were heading first to meet another new family member on my mothers side and then, Robin. After 4 days, we headed to our next destination, Red Bluff California via Sacramento to meet Eileen. Along the way, during, and on our way back to Sacramento to catch our flight home, we visited with many more of Eileens children, nieces and their children which only enhanced the entire experience. The time spent with Eileen was like spending time with family you have known your whole life, just never met! Before arriving, I had gotten a sense from other family members not to expect much in the way of providing family pictures. Nothing personal, just don’t be disappointed. I knew she still had memento’s of Al’s, she told me so, but I had told her I was more interested in seeing pictures and hearing the stories, so I didn’t put much credence in the warning. Pictures she didn’t hand me outright, she allowed me to take pictures of so I had what ever I wanted. She told me the story of after Al died, Charles and a family friend drove straight through to Salt Lake City to collect his things, settle his affairs and arrange transportation of the body back to Red Bluff for burial. She finished by telling me all his belonging were still in their garage and I was welcome to go through and keep anything I want. She called and arranged for the friend that had helped Charles with this in February of 2005, to come and assist me in any way needed. At the end of the day she asked me to go upstairs and retrieve a framed item that belonged to Al. Given the description, I came back downstairs with my fathers WW2 service medals, mounted and framed. The day ended with a stop by Home Depot to pick up several boxes and tape to ship all the memories home. For someone being warned not to be disappointed, I was bursting with the knowledge of having assembled 1/2 of my being over the course of a week. We promised to stay in touch and did in varying degrees. We talked about another trip in a year or so to catch up again. 2020 had different plans. I made several attempts early in the pandemic to talk to Eileen but had little success. The message from Robin came Sunday morning. He said his mom was not well and that she had been moved to a care facility for end of life patients. He went on to explain that 2020 had been very difficult on her, primarily because she was not allowed visitors. I thought of the news reports throughout the pandemic showing the sorrow on the elderly faces and the grieving of the families not being able to even say goodbye to their elders after they passed and realized this was Eileen’s reality. The strength she had exhibited after the passing of her beloved Charles was through the love and support of her family but mostly through their presence and their touch. As I began this tribute to Eileen, she was still alive. Robin, a busy and successful businessman with a million things on his plate, took time to send me personal updates about his mom, and messaged me after she passed. I also need to acknowledge Eileen’s extended family that accepted me completely. I think about a 60ish guy showing up on my doorstep saying he is my lost brother or something and how I would react—fortunately, I have a benchmark and can thank Eileen and Charles for that. R.I.P. aunt Eileen.