I started working on a new post on Friday afternoon, but I’ve put it aside for now. It will keep.
Instead, I want to acknowledge the passing of a shining light in Davidson: LaGretta Neal.
I first met Ms Gretta nearly 20 years ago when she and I served together on the Town’s Comprehensive Plan group. She was kind. She was devout. She was engaged. She was patient. She was curious. She was the very model of neighborly love and care.
You didn’t ever visit Ms Gretta’s house without being asked to sit for coffee. You never left without her tucking something in your hands.
Her cards and calls and texts always left me smiling. And they reminded me that true connection only blossoms when you tend it.
Yesterday at her Homegoing, her grandchildren set two small tables covered with tiny seashells outside the church. A sign encouraged us each to take one and read: “Gretta’s Garden.”
What a perfect way to capture the elegance and sturdiness of a woman who so artfully sowed seeds of community wherever she went.
Thank you, Ms Gretta. It was a privilege to have walked one of your garden paths with you.