Our Aunt Jeanette had the last word on just about everything. Well maybe not everything in the whole world but everything that truly mattered. She was, in fact, the last word on everything that had anything to do with gardening and God's bounty. She was the undisputed expert on how to plant it, pick it, prepare it, can it, freeze it, season it, cook it, serve it and clean it up after everyone had their fill and left the table.
She was most certainly the last word on sharing the bounty of her garden. If you visited the Kemps, you left with a package of peas or a bag of tomatoes, and if you looked particularly needy, she would throw in an Angel Trumpet plant just for good measure. If you were not fortunate enough to visit her at home, she would hunt you down with a cake or pie -- just ask the ladies at the beauty shop, or the folks at the bank or news office or the bridge club.
In addition to being the last word on gardening, Our Aunt Jeanette also had the last word on family heritage. She may well hold the record on hosting large family reunions at her home with approximately 22 annual events chalked up to her credit, come rain or come shine. She and Delbert arranged their lives around planting, picking and family reunion planning. When you talked to Jeanette in the spring of the year, there was a special excitement in her voice because she was on deadline for another Pruett family reunion always scheduled for the second Saturday in April.
Jeanette was the youngest of ten children and she knew the benefit of a loving family relationship. Because she had a loving family as a child, she wanted that experience to be a part of the lives of her children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews. Her love of family is exemplified in the effort she expended on the annual Pruett Reunion. Remember she didn't host just one or two events. She carried the family torch for twenty-two years. Thanks to Aunt Jeanette, that reunion has now taken on a life of its own with a whole new generation of Pruett descendents still coming together in the spring of the year to celebrate their love of family.
Jeanette truly loved the life she and her beloved Delbert created on their Cedar Bluff Road Farm. They worked together carving their home from raw land and loving every blessing of nature that God sent their way: the morning sun, the evening breezes, the spring rains, the March winds, and winter's cold. Every day was a gift and an opportunity to serve their purpose as stewards of God's beautiful, bountiful earth.
Aunt Jeanette, I still want my cleomy seeds you promised me the other day. I'll plant them and I'll think of you. We'll all attend the Pruett Reunion in the spring of the year knowing that you planted those family heritage seed for our benefit and the benefit of our children and our children's children.
Aunt Jeanette, the last word is yours. We know it to be just one, perfect word and that ONE word is LOVE.
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