New Year Optimism and a Mom in Spirit

Joanie Schirm January 1, 2017 Respond

Ruth Alice Lequear in 1946 – Joanie Holzer Schirm’s Mom

Each New Year for me is a little bittersweet. I always yearn for great optimism and hope for the coming year, but a piece of that feeling fell away when seventeen years ago I lost my mother – Ruth Alice Lequear, known affectionately by many as “Chick” or to her grandchildren as “Chickie.” It was on this day, January 1, at the turn of the millennia, she slipped away to the other side following a long struggle with Parkinson’s disease. I miss her each day while she’s over there and I’m over here. I’ve yet to meet someone who in my eyes can match her sweet, gentle spirit and magnanimity that came from her beautiful soul.

I feel her nearness every day and believe her soaring soul from that other world still makes her a mother in spirit. For that, I’m forever appreciative— and hopeful —just as my Mom encouraged me to greet every New Year. Happy New Year to all.

Published by Joanie Schirm

Joanie Schirm won the 2013 Global Ebook Award for Best Biography for her book: Adventurers Against Their Will. Potomac Books will publish the second book, her father’s epic WWII tale, My Dear Boy: A World War II Story of Escape, Exile, and Revelation on March 1, 2019. Joanie is an award-winning writer, photographer, community activist, and retired Orlando, Florida businesswoman. The daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Oswald Holzer, she grew up on a sandy barrier island on the Space Coast of Florida, a place where extraordinary memories are made and pelicans soar. A sought after public speaker, she is internationally known for her highly successful leadership role in Orlando’s hosting of FIFA’s 1994 World Cup USA 1994. She is the proud parent of two adult children, Kelly and Derick, and lives in Orlando with her husband, Roger Neiswender. Her books can be purchased here.