Branch Come Home Year

August 9-19, 2007

A Tribute to Allan and Alice Power

Sheila (Power) Gensits

 

It is with a deep pride that I pay tribute to two fine people, my parents, Allan and Alice Power, to whom I owe the gift of life and so much more.  During the all too short years I enjoyed with them, they taught me all the values I hold so strongly today – loyalty, responsibility, family values, sharing and caring – all of the things that remain so close to my heart.

 

I remember my father as a cheerful, optimistic man who could whistle his way through difficulties and hardship, and who always found a way to provide for his large family as a fisherman and hunter.  His easygoing nature was a lesson in patience and tolerance, as it was a common occurrence to see him snore through eight or nine screaming children sprawling all over him.

 

I remember my mother, Alice Power, as a gentle woman.  In her face, there was a smile of the sunshine; in her eyes, there were shining stars; in her lips, there were songs of love; and in her heart a mold of gold.  Her dedication to her children was first and foremost, and her faith in God was one of her greatest assets in facing tragedy, as she always believed that God would provide.  These qualities are a living, constant source of comfort to me.

 

In recognition of their memory, I am reminded of a few lines from a tribute an American girl once gave to her parents – a tribute that I recited 15 years ago on my wedding day, and an accolade of what they taught me.

 

"They taught me the joy of clean living, that honor is better than fame, that good friends are the greatest of treasures, wealth less than an untarnished name.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                       

                                                          Sheila and Mommy

                                            Branch Winter Carnival - 1981