Abraham Lincoln once said, "All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my mother." This pretty much says it all in a nutshell. Mom was born in Boston, Massachusetts on March 9, 1931. Her mom, Hannah Groves, was a native of Nova Scotia. Her father, Joseph Gabree, also known as Grampa Joe, or "Indian Joe," was of Blackfoot Indian descent. Mom was the fourth of nine children, so raising eleven of her own came as second nature. One of the earliest memories I have of Mom is of her in our five acre garden weeding beds and supervising the extraction of honey from the hives. We raised milk goats, chickens, ducks, and always had a dog romping the farm.

Hardship taught my Mom to be a carpenter, electrician, plumber, mechanic, seamstress, wonderful cook and food preserver, gardener, artist, handyman, botanist, bird expert, and antique finisher - all while working full-time and raising a family.

I would like to think that my mom passed many of her talents on to me. If she did, it was only after years of teaching, support and encouragement. In the Hummingbird kitchen and on the farm, Mom remains the senior advisor, the leaning post, the rock of Gibraltar, as she stirs soap to trace, wraps raffia bows, or trims bars.

In the difficult moments , she'll take me back in time by whispering, "You can do it," in my ear as she did so many other times when I was a child. She's right, I can do it, but I do it a lot better with her cheering me on.

Pauline Florence Gabree-Griffin R.I.P.