My talk at Aunties funeral!

My cousins ask me to talk at Aunties funeral, so this is what  I had to say!  I think this is one of the hardest things I have ever done!!

I just want thank you every one of you for coming today to share in my Aunties celebration of life. I am Christine Williams Athel’s great niece. Aunt Athel was born to Zeke & Nora Nixon. Auntie was the fifth child of eight. Athel was preceded in death by five siblings: Douglas Nixon, Eunice Leary, Myrtle Allen, Mabel Leary and Dimple Van Norman. Surviving sisters are Willie Dobbs & Ila Robertson Henninger. Aunt Athel married Uncle Dal in 1937 and they moved to Bakersfield the same year. They had been married 63 years when Uncle Dal died in 1997. Aunt Athel’s only son Kenny Coffman died in 2009. She leaves behind two daughters, Lois Caswell and husband Jim and Judy Petters and husband Ted, daughter in law Sherry Coffman, five grandchildren, six great-grand children and many nieces and nephews. Athel joined 1st Southern Baptist Church in 1949 and attended there as long as she was able.


Auntie was a very special person in our family’s life. Aunt Athel promised to take care of my mother after my mom’s mother died in 1966. Auntie was the closest thing to a grandmother my brother & I had. She was always there for our family. Her family was very important to her. She would tell us all the time that she was praying for us. I am going to miss those phone calls when I am cooking dinner when she was checking up on us. I can truly say that Auntie was a prayer warrior. As some of my cousins have said the last few days this is a legacy that we need to carry out for our own families.

Aunt Athel always had a way to make people feel special. She would do special things for people so they now she cared about them. It may be a little thing by making their favorite pie, cookie or sitting down and playing a game with you. As a child I loved the way her house smelled of what she was cooking at the time. I never remember a time that Auntie didn’t have a smile on her face.

When I was about 7 years old I stayed with Aunt Athel a lot because I was sick and could not go to school. She was a very creative lady. She always had some craft for me to do during the day weather it was picking leaves out of the back yard to color, or melting crayons to make stain glass windows, making a doll house out of a cardboard box. She made everyone feel special when you where with her.

Uncle Dal and Aunt Athel had the best backyard to play in. My cousins and I spent hours on the tire swing that hung from the big tree. Looking at the rabbits and trying to count the babies.

One on my favorite memories of Auntie is when my mother called her to see if her church had Sunday school class for college kids. Well 1st Southern Baptist had a big class at that time. So one Sunday I went. Well I go to this Sunday school and there is this really awesome guy in this class at the time I didn’t think much about it, but during the church service he came up to me again while I am sitting next to Uncle Dal and Aunt Athel. After church I drive back to Tehachapi and Auntie goes home. Well she gets home faster than I do. Auntie calls my mom when she gets home and tells her that this young man was talking to me in church. So when I get home my mother already knows about this young man named David. I really didn’t know what to say. Auntie called me every week to see if I was coming back to church. Well, I eventually married that young man named David. Even after David & I married & had our own children we would set in the pew in front of Uncle Dal & Aunt Athel. She always made sure she had little mints in her purse for Jacob & Emily. It just amazed me how she thought of little things to bring a smile on your face.

Some of the things that I respect about Auntie is that she was a Godly woman, a prayer warrior and that she was there for you when you needed her. She was a loving and caring woman. Aunt Athel is going to be greatly missed. Each one of us has truly been blessed by her. I love you Auntie!!!!