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Me and Emma on vacation. St. George Island, Florida.
A few of the beautiful Sailor's Valentines Debbie created are shown below.
Before Sailor's Valentines, Debbie had another passion: honeybees!
We always enjoyed the quotations Debbie added to her emails:
"And God promised man that good and obedient wives would be found in all corners of the world." Then She made the earth round, and laughed, and laughed, and laughed . . ."
"Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare." (Japanese proverb)
You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say will be misquoted, then used against you. -Anonymous
A word to the wise ain't necessary - it's the stupid ones that need the advice. - Bill Cosby
"I used to eat a lot of natural foods until I learned that most people die of natural causes."
Life is change. Growth is optional. Choose wisely. - Karen Kaiser Clark
I used to be Snow White, but I drifted. - Mae West
" The life of one we love is never lost. Its influence goes on through all the lives it ever touched."
- Helen Steiner Rice
Debbie's husband, Glen, at his farewell party. "He's my helpmate and biggest fan."
My new buggy (October 2016)
In 2014, Debbie Freeman was diagnosed with ALS . . . Lou Gehrig's Disease. Mutual friends told us recently, "Deb will keep making sailors valentines until she can't. . . and then, she'll have her husband glue the shells in the box."
Debbie had just started work on the 20" Sailors Valentine shown above before she passed away. She worked on her shell art right up to the end. During the two years after Debbie was diagnosed with ALS, she was teaching Kathy Schley and another of her close friends everything she knew about shells and shell art. After Debbie's death, her family gifted this unfinished valentine to Kathy as well as all her shell flowers and shells to her two friends.
Building on what Debbie had started, Kathy created this design. In Kathy's words, "Here is the completed Valentine using Debbie’s flowers. The outside margin is Englewood sand… where she walked often. The flowers are arranged on black mangrove stems in a circular shape with the top left open to symbolize her spirit rising from the work. It took almost a year for my broken heart to be overcome and create this “last” work of art."
Debbie Freeman passed away in November 2016. She leaves behind a loving husband & family, and many, many friends. She was a blessing to us and will live on in our hearts.
Building on what Debbie had started, Kathy created this design. In Kathy's words, "Here is the completed Valentine using Debbie’s flowers. The outside margin is Englewood sand… where she walked often. The flowers are arranged on black mangrove stems in a circular shape with the top left open to symbolize her spirit rising from the work. It took almost a year for my broken heart to be overcome and create this “last” work of art."
Debbie Freeman passed away in November 2016. She leaves behind a loving husband & family, and many, many friends. She was a blessing to us and will live on in our hearts.