October 4, 2024 was my Mother, Jean Thyren's 100th Birthday.  That day the good folks who host her in Assisted Living in the Health Center of Cranes Mill Retirement Community threw a wonderful party for her.  The West Caldwell Borough Council President was on hand to present her with an 

official proclamation, as a resident of the community since 1950.

The party included the presentation of a Crown, a Queen's Robe and Scepter, music by Hunter Hayes, and cake and sparkling cider.  

Jan and I, my sister Nancy and brother-in-law Tom, our niece Kristin, our daughter, Carrie were able to represent the family and enjoy the festivities.

Later that afternoon and evening, our daughter Katie and granddaughters, Addie and Elise arrived from

Washington State, and niece Lauren, husband Chris, and their children, Abby and Declan arrived to join us at our block of rooms in Fairfield. Katie's husband, Chris, arrived on the red-eye Saturday morning.

(Carrie's hubby, Dane was taking care of canines Bullet and Zelda back in Illinois).

Saturday morning the out-of-towners dropped in to surprise and render the 100-year-old speechless, as the rest of us prepared a gathering in the "Country Kitchen" in the Assisted Living wing of Cranes Mill.

Richard and Susan Conners, lifelong friends who have been Mom's most frequent visitors, (and our go-to team to meet Mom's needs for tissues, batteries or other necessities) joined us.  Kristin Paterson 

organized a wonderful meal catered by the folks at Shop-Rite.

After the meal, we circled up for a time to celebrate the guest of honor.  What appears below is some-thing I wrote to precede a Champaign Toast to the Birthday Girl and a time when those around the 

circle shared memories of cherished moments with Jean.  (The pictures that follow have been added

as illustrations, here and there.)

One Hundred Years of Giving 

We gather to give thanks

for all the gifts we have received

in the form of Jean Maynard Ackerman Thyren

whose days we celebrate today.

We give thanks for a lifetime of giving

despite early setbacks wrought

by the Great Depression,

the Second World War,

and the untimely death of her father.

 

Some are stories of long-ago memories which speak of happy times:

a family gathered near the Shrewsbury in the summer

in a house with a circular grate bringing heat from the basement,

the men of the family arriving by train

in time for a quick dip before dinner.

Our love of “the shore” is surely in our genes from those early days.

Then there’s the mental picture conjured from the story

of two sisters walking home from their grandfather’s market,

abandoning the fish they carried

to the dog that robbed what was supposed to be dinner.

And who hasn’t heard of the nights

when the Ackerman sisters and the Hyde boys

were marched off to bed by Aunt Grace at the piano

after an evening of singing?

 

Fast forward, (if you know what the means)

past the high school years

which included helping a girlfriend change a tire

on her brother’s car

(to the horror of that friend’s mother.)

Skip over the mysterious “dance card”

found among the treasures in her scrap book,

and her days as a working girl at “the Pru.”

Recall the happy faces on the October night

she married the one who some of you know

as the second in the line of Thyren PopPops.

Wedded bliss began with some gifts that to this day

can be found on the walls and floors of Paddleberry…

and a memorable first dinner of boiled beef

quickly replaced by creamed eggs.

Though the sequence is fuzzy to one as yet unborn at the time,

Mom’s giving just as quickly included

caring for her new husband amid illnesses, ailments and surgeries.

And then came Nancy

and lots of cute pictures in cozy snowsuits amid a blizzard-

and six years later, yours truly arrived

in time for one of the hottest summers ever.

In between,

the beloved bungalow on Thrumont Road

where so many of our memories still reside,

and so many of our gifts were first bestowed:

dresses, pajamas, baptismal suits, blouses and shirts sewn

on a machine paid for in weekly installments.

Hand knit mittens and hats.

Repurposed toys and furniture from neighbors

who had outgrown them.

Train sets and first radios, barbells and other treasures long forgotten.

 

Sunday dinners with Aunt Doris telling stories

of her cruise on the Queen of Bermuda or trip with the Ski Club.

Christmas breakfast with Nana and PopPop.

Clearing out the furniture for Doris and Dave’s Wedding Reception.

Sunday dinners with PopPop and Uncle Albin and Gandy.

Desserts tested on us before served to Bridge Club on Tuesday night:

Prune Whip

or a cake made of minty chocolate cookies glued together and iced.

 

Into that house she welcomed the next generation,

first Kristin, when not visiting her on Westville Avenue.

From it she took an endless bus ride to Unadilla

to cook and provide care after Katie arrived on a July night.

Lauren took up residence around the corner and Grandma

helped get her into her sox before nursery school.

Carrie came next and was relieved when Casey

and Holly took her place as the first one to be

put out of the play space in the guest bedroom.

Memories of holiday visits abound!

We’ll let you tell us about them.

 

For those with eyes to see,

the woman of the house taught us about caring for others,

and making a difference in the larger world:

Sunday School Teacher and Elder in charge of Communion,

Circle leader, lifetime member of Presbyterian Women,

making the RCA Book to pay off the Christian Ed wing of church,

Treasurer of the Serrv Shop, worker at the Thrift Shop,

and in later years VFW Auxiliary Memorial Day Marcher.

 

More importantly,

we observed caring in action, giving in meaningful ways:

the devoted daughter visiting at Green Hill,

the rock of a sister and aunt during Dave’s cancer battle,

the stalwart friend of bridge club cronies facing struggles,

the confidant and helper for Alice and Betty,

and the courageous companion of her husband,

our father and grandfather,

as they faced their final illnesses.

 

In each of our homes

there are little reminders

of 100 years of giving and caring

by the woman we honor today:

Ornaments for the Christmas tree

and cross-stitch pictures,

items of jewelry chosen after a sweaty soccer match,

or fine art pottery from the Cranes Mill collection.

 

Yet the ones that count the most

are the memories we hold dear

and the ones we are making today

as we say

Happy Birthday Mom

Happy Birthday Grandma

Happy Birthday Ggma!