Ada-Lou Bock Tribute

Bonnie-Lou, Jori Lynn, and Kerri Jo. Our thoughts are with you this week and into the coming months.

Like others, I have vivid memories of Ada. Fond memories. Yet I can not help but wish I could have known more of her while realizing we all live within the confines presented by time and distance. I remember silly moments. Some good (like when she winked at me and patted me on the head after Warren gave me a stern reprimand for unruly behavior in the Gazebo thing – where the heck was that – the Bay?), some bad (she laughed at me each time I frantically jumped on the couch to escape the miniature jaws of that psychotic dog – Lady Bea). I remember singing the mournful chant of “Those Were the Days” at the ripe old age of 9 and her coming up to tell me that Yes!….we were in fact “older but no wiser, for in our hearts the dreams were still the same”. She was poignant when she sang those lyrics with me and I was too young to understand what she truly meant.

I remember the laugh and the beauty. I remember the indelible Jones connection and wondering if it was a curse or a blessing. I remember her moments of brilliant insight and unmatched gullibility. I remember the flightiness of the artist and the Cheshire cat grin of epiphany. I remember her being so sober it scared me and so impaired that it scared me. I remember dancing with her like only a Jones can dance.

I enjoyed knowing her later in life and knowing all those things that I didn’t get as a naïve nephew. I like that she kept searching for the secret elixir that would free her from the mundane.

I just wish I knew her better. Had more opportunity to spend with her and her diverse and unique children. I look to my mother now and can’t imagine the loss. I can only say to those that new Ada better than I that she made me smile. I always felt that the she “got me” when other didn’t. I found it hard to see her physical changes over the last few years as our paths crossed sporadically but I take solace in Ada’s release from her physical bonds.

I hope all of you can find peace in this difficult and we send all our love and best wishes to you and yours.

Curt, Nancy, Jennifer, Paris


"I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next. Delicious Ambiguity." Gilda Radner