Memories of Rahija

Abstract

<p>Sometime in 1987, sadly, I realized that my father, who would have been 102 had he lived, passed the milestone of his 100th birthday without note or commemoration. I vowed this would not happen with my mother, Rahija Saad Bassett.</p><p>In early May, 1991, I wrote to all of her children, grandchildren, nephews and nieces, cousins, and others, asking them to pause for a moment of reflection at the noon hour on her date of birth. And I also asked for a written remembrance: a story, an incident, an impression to be shared. This book is a collection of those individual memories which have come together to form a vivid image of a loving, nurturing woman, who seldom complained of ill fortune, who loved God, and nature, and life, and her children, and all those about her.</p><p>Her stories are a part of our family folklore and her history is a vital part of our heritage. This collection gives us a unique way to remember her, and an opportunity to pass on to our children and their children and their children's children the heritage which helped to shape us and them.</p><p>Thank you all for your memories, and I thank my sisters for their special help.</p>