Aunt Nuna

In Honor of: Nuna Grace Cornwall Erskine July 4, 1919-June 3, 2010

Nuna grew up in Seattle, and lived a majority of her life in the University District...the area of homes surrounding the University of Washington. She was the youngest of five daughters born to Earl and Myrtle Cornwall, and then they finally had a boy born after her. She met and married Austin Harold Erskine in Seattle on October 22 of 1938. Harold was one of my mother's six brothers, and so they became my Uncle Harold and Aunt Nuna. Harold worked at Todd's Shipyard in downtown Seattle, and Nuna became what we now call a stay-at-home mom (but what in those days was just the norm) to their two boys; Dale Harold and Larry Paul, born in 1943 and 1947.

My family lived just two blocks from Uncle Harold and Aunt Nuna, so we saw each other often during our growing up years. The Christmas I turned three, Uncle Harold made me a doll bed, and Aunt Nuna sewed a mattress, mattress pad, pillow and pillowslip, plus a wonderful little quilt for the bed.

There it is, complete with a handmade doll in 1953.

Here it is today, after three generations have played with and loved it. It still is painted the same green color, with two decals at foot and head, of Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater and Little Bo Peep. Isn't the quilt lovely? It hasn't even frayed one little bit.

After their boys grew up and left home, Harold and Nuna moved north to the Tulalip Indian Reservation, where they lived right on Puget Sound in a small beach cabin/home. It was a wonderful place to visit, with fresh barbecued salmon, or a barbecued goose for Thanksgiving, or yet homemade butterscotch fudge for Christmas.
Harold developed Mesotheleomia (hope I got the spelling right) from working with asbestos in the shipyard and died in 1980. Aunt Nuna continued on for 30 years as a widow, always a loving mother, grandmother and aunt.
She was a devoted follower of Jesus, and a charter member of the Berean Bible Church in Shoreline. She taught Good News Clubs for many years.

I am so thankful for a wonderfully good visit my brother and I had with her last summer. We spent several hours with her, and enjoyed reliving some of our old memories.

We are headed up to Seattle today for her memorial service tomorrow. It is a real joy to go and celebrate her good life, and to see my family. I'll be back with you next week.