Sunday, January 23, 2011

My mother's Obituary

by Rae Indigo on Sunday, January 23, 2011 at 1:29am


Shelley Leigh Rodfong, age 55, from Fountain Hill PA passed on quietly in her sleep at 3:45 AM, Jan. 18, 2011 at St. Luke's Hospital after an 8 month bout with tongue and throat cancer. Shelley had lived her life spontaneously, and passionately.


She enjoyed traveling, and adventure, having spent time in Florida keys, Rock Hall MD, Reno NV, and various places in Colorado and Wisconsin. She loved autumn leaves, stars, magazines and sitting by the beach. Painting and journaling were two of her favorite hobbies. She was a great vegetarian cook and made exceptional tuna melts.


Most of all she loved to laugh and make others laugh. Although she was terrified of spiders she remained inspired by the natural world especially the great outdoors. Shelley loved to sojourn at high places with beautiful vistas.


Born February 18th, 1955 at St. Luke's Hospital in Fountain Hill, PA, to Truman Rodfong and JoAnne Deutsch Roth. She is survived by daughters Rachael Mae Straub and Sarah Anne Straub, half-sisters Laurie Rodfong and Tina Ramus and half-brother Daniel Rodfong. In lieu of flowers, donations to her memory can be made by contacting her daughter Sarah Straub.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Shelley's final hours...

This is the last moment when Shelley rallied (Sunday evening), we laughed together, and spent some really nice time visiting. From then on she slept most of the time, moving in and out of wakefulness, but she never fully engaged again. Photos from Sunday, January 16.




I returned to the hospital Monday afternoon, a bit surprised that Mom had made it through the night. Monday evening I got ready to leave, but when I said good-bye and hugged her, Mom woke up and opened her eyes for a brief moment. I asked if she wanted me to stay and she nodded. So I did. The nurses brought in a cot for me and I dozed off for a few minutes at a time. At 3:45 I woke up, looked over, and went over to the bedside. I said "Mom ... Mom," and shook her lightly. It seemed like she still had a faint pulse in her neck but she'd stopped breathing and I knew she was gone. It hit me like a punch in the gut.

This morning I've been over to her apartment to gather a few things. I made arrangements for cremation, and tomorrow I'll return and gather the rest of her things and deal with the final remains. Today I'm going to spend some time at my dad's on the farm.

January 18, 2011

Shelley died peacefully this morning at 3:45 AM. Sarah was by her side throughout the evening and night. Greta and Guy joined her at the hospital at 4:30.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

From Sarah

Doctors say she might not make it through the weekend, but nobody knows for sure. Her blood pressure, hemoglobin has all dropped to unsafe levels and she is under 70 pounds. She is in the terminal stages of her Cancer. Sad story. She needs a happy ending.

Holding my mom in my heart. Love you mom ♥