Esther Lee, Son Garrido,

Garrido, Esther Lee, Son December 31, 1931 – February 8, 2018 Obituary. Defined as a notice of death and a brief biography of the deceased. I have chosen to undertake the task of my writing my own obituary. After all, who knows more about me, than me? Portsmouth, Ohio is where I was born. The early years with my parents, Earle and Bernice Haney, were nomadic. Being Heralds of the gospel, they attended several little churches in southern Ohio and the hills of West Virginia. These treks became increasingly difficult with the addition of siblings Gene Earle and Molly Sue. So, as if by divine will, came an invitation to join a “mission” in Florida. This was the answer to their prayers. In February 1942, two months after Pearl Harbor, everything we owned that was worth keeping was piled into our small car. How exciting it was the five of us off to Florida! I am now 10, Gene 6, Sue, 9 months. Our older brother Lawrence stayed in Ohio to finish high school. Just east of Parrish (an area called Manhattan) was an old hotel, abandoned in the twenties when Florida was no longer the Gladiolus Capital of the World. This was the “mission”, now occupied by an old couple, Rev. Bond and his wife. The Rev. turned out to be the fore-runner of some of our TV evangelicals. I’m not sure of their indiscretion, but, here came the Sheriff, shiny badge and all, hauling them away! My parents, to say the least, were sorely disappointed, but not discouraged. God would show them the way…. Whoa…. This is beginning to sound like a memoir. So, according to definition, I’ll try to be brief. Let us note right off, I was never a victim of circumstance, or the cause of a situation that required newspaper reporting. (This is a good thing). But, it should be noted that I was, and will always be, a P.K. (Preachers Kid). I graduated from Bushnell High School where, in addition to the usual academics, I learned to play both trumpet and French horn. My one academic accomplishment was earning a place on the Deans’ List at Stetson University. After one semester, funding was nil. So, I, like many others decided to trade my service to the military for an education. It was the time of “police action” in Korea. Now was the time from me to pledge my allegiance to Uncle Sam and the U.S.A.F. I was consequently assigned to Ft. Myer, Va., working in communications in the Pentagon. Enter co-worker Sgt. Elma (Bobbie) Dykes, (who will, forty years later enter our family as a permanent resident). As the ‘war’ wound down, I was admonished by our CO to get on with your life and go back to school. So, I did. So did she. This time, to Florida State University, (keeping it brief) after two years met and married Richard C. Son. After he graduated, we moved to Sarasota to tend the family business, Colombi’s Italian Restaurant on St. Armand’s Key. It was sold after almost twenty years. I never tired of cooking and creating Italian dishes. Alas, nice career, but no college degree! But, even more rewarding was the adoption of a beautiful three day old baby girl, Cindy Jean. Smartest thing I ever did… after all these years, she attends to me. She remains the light and love of my life. As the light went out in the restaurant, so it did in the marriage. But Richard did introduce me to my future husband, G, Herb Garrido who was the director of The Circus Hall of Fame in Sarasota. My not being qualified to water the elephants, I was assigned duties in the office, and when needed, ticket gate or gift shop. Just imagine, going to the circus every day! One fun chore was to “run the boards”… this is to check every billboard from here to Alabama, making sure they were in proper condition and facing toward Sarasota. (One was on the way to Orlando!). Brochures were delivered to all Florida Welcome Stations. Herb loved the circus, especially the children’s laughter, but his happiest role was that of “Poppy” to Heather and Kristen, the youngest daughters of Cindy and her husband Larry. So, unfortunately, this is where Esther (better known as Nana to me, her youngest granddaughter Kristen) left off writing. So for the duration of this, I will take over and finish. The night before she passed away, one of her final requests was that I finish her obituary. Anyone who knows me, I am a horrible writer (this is where my older sister Heather comes in to help a little), but I wanted to honor her by doing what she asked of me. Although I may not be able to finish her amazing life story in such beautiful detail as her, I can add a few words. Nana was like no other – she was a supportive, loving, caring, humble straight forward human being. In my 28 years of living, I am extremely grateful to have been able to call Esther my grandma, and to be a part of such and amazing woman’s life. From the very beginning she was there – she was always involved and such a huge part of our lives. I was able to walk 30 steps and be at grandmas house any time I wanted to, it was amazing! There was never a dull moment with her. Every time you sat down with her, a small conversation turned into an hour long story. What great story’s she had to tell! As much as it breaks my heart to have to sit here and write even a few words – I am grateful that I have as many wonderful memories with her as I do. Esther (Nana) will be missed so dearly, but will always remain in our hearts. We will remember her stories, our memories with her and celebrate the time we had with her. Esther will be lovingly remembered by her daughter and son-in-law Cindy and Larry Walding, her grandchildren Danny, Kelly, Larry, Michael, Heather, Kristen and her great grandchildren Kristin, Hayley, Rose, Lily, Hera, Kaleb and her sister Sue Salerno. Services will be held at Wednesday, February 21, 2018 at 2:30 PM at Sarasota National Cemetery.

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Esther Lee, Son Garrido,

December 31, 1931 - February 8, 2018