My name is Edward Brown, and I won the aunt lottery. Ruth Hogan was not my mother, but she could have been. Ruth Hogan was my aunt; my mother, Auntie Wow's sister. Ruth Hogan was Auntie Ruth to me. Upon my birth, Auntie Ruth accompanied my mother from the hospital with me in her arms to my home. Auntie Ruth and Auntie Wow looked alike and shared mannerisms. When I was a boy, Auntie Ruth would come to our house to pick up her sister for church, and the children in the courtyard who knew my mom would stare at Auntie Ruth, gobsmacked. “Are you Mrs. Brown?” “No dear, I’m her sister…” Auntie Ruth referred to me as Edward Edward, not because she had a stutter, but because she loved me twice as much and showed it in abundance. I won the aunt lottery. I love my mother dearly, but when I was a kid, I knew that if she was bumped off, Auntie Ruth would be the perfect substitute mom. As a bonus, Cousin Paul would become my little brother, and God knows, with three older sisters, he needed a brother. Auntie Ruth possessed the mind of a teacher, the zeal of a missionary, the compassion of a mother, and the timing of a comedienne. When I was little, she did a wicked Tim Conway impersonation. I won the aunt lottery. Today, I am proud to say Ruth Hogan was my aunt. I could talk about her kindness for hours. Auntie Ruth showed me by example how to have meaningful relationships with my own nephews and nieces. There will never be another like her, well, except for Auntie Wow, and today I am proud to say, because I won the aunt lottery, I am Auntie Ruth’s nephew. Rest in peace, Auntie Ruth. You will forever be cherished and remembered.
