Just found out that my mother's best friend died in 1999.
My mother died in 1974, when I was 11 years old. Shortly thereafter, Sharon, my mother's best friend, showed up to take care of us. She had a husband (who was one of the biggest pricks I've ever known) and two young daughters. Eventually we all moved into a big house together.
I remember Sharon's method of making meat-stuffed manicotti was to stuff the shells before they were cooked. The result was skinny meat sticks inside big pasta tubes. I remember seeing her put ground beef on a salad and thinking that was weird. I remember her saying that she didn't dress provocatively because she wanted men to wonder what was under the clothes.
We weren't particularly close, but I think she did okay by us.
A few months ago her youngest daughter, Jody, and I became FB friends. Last night we had a chat session, and I found out that Sharon died in 1999 of a brain aneurysm, one week short of her 54th birthday.
I had always wondered about this family. I'm glad to learn that Jody has three kids, including a ten-year-old named Sharon.