A Life Lived In Superlatives

To the Editor:

Virginia Lee Lathrop personified what it means to live a life of gratitude. She was genuinely, honestly joy filled. She lived a life of no regrets, fiercely patriotic and terrifically flamboyant. She believed in giving her best and demanding the same. She danced as though no one was watching and because she did, everyone wanted to catch a glimpse. To be in her presence was magic because she made you believe that magic came from within — all the glitter and the sequins, all the stardust and the bubbles were a part of Gin that made you see beyond what was, to what could be. Gin saw everything through the eyes of gratitude.

Gin taught us so much, and sometimes she even used words. Often it was watching her devotion in feeding the myriad of wildlife that gathered in her backyard, or her deliberate overtipping in restaurants, or watching her behind the microphone after each recital to tearfully proclaim that this show was the “best one yet!” 

Gin simply believed that people were good, life was a precious and fragile gift to be celebrated daily, and God in his heaven had blessed her abundantly. He did!

She in turn blessed us who called her friend, teacher, neighbor, auntie, and mom.

Anna Maria DeLuccio

Honeoye Falls, N.Y.                                            November 23, 2009