Dear Mrs. Brown:
As the holidays approach, my thoughts turn to this time a year ago when your agency provided more than three months of wonderful 24-hour care to my Uncle Vincent Wilbur during his final illness. So many times I have been grateful for the high-quality attention he received from your fine home care workers during his last months on earth. Numerous times during those months I traveled to Marblehead from central Maine to visit Uncle Vincent. At those
visits I had the pleasure of meeting Cathy Costello, Ayanna Saunders, Barbara Moore, Joan Weaver, Linda Jepson and Patricia McCulley, as well as Maria, who was with him Christmas Eve and Christmas night. I spoke on the telephone with Johnny Clerisson, and with Lauren Domingue of your office, and on January 2, the day Vincent died, with Jody. Each time I was struck with the integrity and reliability of
these dedicated people. It was a privilege for me to meet women who spend their
working lives directly taking care of others at times of great need.
Whenever I sat down in the living room to talk with one of your workers, she was constantly getting up, in response to sounds on the monitor, and hastening to Vincent’s bedroom to provide assistance of one kind or another. Without fail, each of these devoted women helped Vincent with
every necessity, whether it was for food,
assistance with toileting and bathing, or
turning him and adjusting pillows and clean
sheets to make him more comfortable in
bed, or reading to him his many Christmas
cards and birthday cards. Linda was one of
the people who helped to see that Uncle

Vincent got to happily celebrate his 99th
birthday on December 15th. On Christmas
morning, Joan and I started to watch a
church service on television in the living
room together, but before it had barely
started, Joan was rushing to the bedroom to
take care of Vincent’s anxiety, and she spentmost of the morning helping him to rest comfortably. I learned later that Joan’s own father died not long after that time that she was selflessly taking care of Uncle Vincent.
Early in the morning of January 2, 2006, in the hours before Vincent died, I talked with Jody on the phone from my motel room and received an update as to his still stable condition. Later, as I was about to get on the road to Marblehead from U.S. Route 1, I
talked with Barbara, who suggested that I
come over soon. It was a beautiful sunny
morning, and the ocean below Vincent’s
apartment was calm. When I arrived, Barbara told me that not long before, Vincent had died in her arms. In my view, this was such a peaceful, comforting way for him to leave this life. I know that Vincent liked Barbara a lot and always enjoyed talking with her because she reminded him of his country childhood. I knew that now he was free to take his boat over the ocean. I feel that after a good, long life, Vincent had a good death due to your agency’s attention. Many thanks for your efforts, and the efforts of all your people in taking good care of my Uncle Vincent.

Sincerely,
Hannah B. Faulkner