Obit of a great woman - by her son in law [View all]

[ehrnst]

A friend posted this on facebook, to let friends know that he had lost his mother in law:

"Marie Dunn passed away this morning. She died peacefully at the Willow Crest Nursing Pavilion.

I met Ma in 1991. I was dating her daughter. She walked into the store where I was working and took both of my hands in both of hers. She always took hold of people with both hands. Usually, she took their hands. In the case of her granddaughters, she took hold of whatever she felt like grabbing that day. I honestly don’t remember what we talked about at our first meeting. I do remember feeling like we were in a bubble. Her hands holding my hands, her attention completely on me, and the whole world kind of melting away. There was kind of a “truth-serum” effect talking to Ma. She asked you questions and you answered them. Whatever the subject, you were investigating and celebrating life together. Both the successes and the failures.

One time, we went to a restaurant in Aurora called the roundhouse. Walter Payton owned it. He was there that night. Jan pointed him out to mom. I’m not sure where he thought he was going or how urgent his mission was when Marie intercepted him. But, she took both his hands in both of hers and there was no question that they were going to have a conversation. I don’t know what they talked about. I doubt it was football. It took a long while. The whole time, they were smiling and laughing and nodding. He was completely at her mercy. Eventually, when she was ready, ma released him. Walter Payton, a man who built his career on being unstoppable, had met his match. This powerhouse who spun, dug, and snuck his way through some the toughest and largest defensive lines the NFL had ever produced, was stopped in his tracks by a 5 foot 2 inch bohemian septuagenarian named Marie. Just as we all were.

I will miss her."