To the editor:
Thank you for that touching tribute to Audrey Mettel Fixmer. She wrote such wonderful pieces about a time of life that can be seen as the most difficult and yet as you wrote, she did so in a positive way.
Audrey’s columns were always a first-read for me. And I’m several generations younger! The way she shared her faith with humor and grace was a tremendous witness.
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Audrey Mettel Fixmer died on January 22, surrounded by her family. She touched many lives in her 86 years of life and made significant contributions to the Catholic Herald as author of the “Grand Mom” column for 23 years.
Twenty-three years ago out of the blue, I got a phone call from Audrey Mettel Fixmer.
She told me she had retired from teaching English and was interested in writing for the Catholic Herald. We chatted for awhile, and I found out that she was a member of St. Joseph Parish in Fort Atkinson and seemed very devoted to her faith.
Besides that, she told me she had 11 children (one died as an infant). Wow, I thought. That was amazing!
I told Audrey that we didn’t have a regular column in our paper dedicated to senior citizens. Since she was 65 years old at the time, I thought she was qualified to write about that age group.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Joseph Church, 1660 Endl Blvd., on Monday, Jan. 26, at 12 noon for Audrey Mettel Fixmer, a long-time writer for the Catholic Herald.
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I recently lived vicariously through a friend’s miserable experience caring for an elderly aunt.
Although my friend traveled more than 2,000 miles to care for her aunt following a surgery, she was treated like a servant by this grumpy old lady, who showed no gratitude for her niece’s sacrifice, even though back home those of us who know her well are aware of her outstanding homemaking and nursing skills.
We couldn’t wait for the two weeks to end and have her back home to her family where she is appreciated.
This was an experience that touched my heart and made me think about the whole situation of the elderly and the caregiver.
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It’s hard for me to believe it now, but in my younger years I cared nothing about antiques. I foolishly figured that anyone who furnished a home with them simply couldn’t afford new stuff.
Now, although I still don’t have them in my home, I find myself fascinated by anything with a “history.”
I can’t wait each week to watch public television’s Antiques Roadshow. I guess you could say I didn’t care for antiques until I became one.
