christine johnson.

christine johnson was a great cherokee woman who devoted her time selflessly to others. after my dad's parents divorced, christine is the woman with whom my grandpa truman fell in love. they never married, despite my grandpa's request, because she was too afraid to leave her home. her first husband had left her with their two children to raise, and her home and children were all she had. christine and my grandpa were together, despite never marrying or living together, up until the time that he died in 1989. to my knowledge she never found another partner.

christine was family. her two kids sonny and kathy and their spouses and children became family, too. we spent time at the river in an old cabin that had always been my grandpa's until he passed away. many games of horseshoes were played and much time was spend in the foot-paddle boat out at the cabin. hog fries and fry bread were tradition. spending time with their family always reminded me of time at my aunt jesse's -- the family is full-blood cherokee, and while you may not know half the names of the people, you know you are surrounded by family.

this past week, christine johnson passed away. she was almost 80 years old and as i said before, she had lived a life devoted to serving others. she helped raise her grandchildren and her great grandchildren and took in single mothers until they were able to get back on their feet. in recent years my family has spent little time with christine, and that i regret. to have learned from this wise woman would have been an honor.

we attended her funeral on friday morning. first we met at sonny's home. as is tradition, we ate food that had been provided by the family and friends. fry bread was present (but justin was disappointed to see there was no kenutche). i was glad to see that everyone was able to celebrate her life and their time together. kathy never failed to introduce my dad as her brother and it felt good to be a part of the legacy christine leaves behind.

at the funeral there were familiar faces in the crowd that have been active in my life over the years and have played a part at the cherokee nation. even the Chief was in attendance. to say that she made a difference is an understatement. there are lives of families and children that are dramatically different, abudantly better, because of chrisine's devotion.

our families have made a new promise to stay in better touch and get together more often. hopefully you will get to meet them this fall at our wedding and maybe see a glimpse into the life of this incredible woman who will remain always in our hearts.