Text size:   |   Email article    Print article
Share: ?These icons link to popular social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new stories.   Digg    Del.icio.us    Newsvine

Virginia Matthews lives in a home for Alzheimer’s patients but her daughter, Karen Kinnison (right) remembers lunches with the mom who was her friend. Mitch Green/Telegram

As mothers around the country are honored today, there are many who see the holiday as a bittersweet reminder of who their mothers were and how much has been lost to Alzheimer’s.

Virginia Matthews, 94, a Salado resident for years, now lives at AlzCare, an assisted living facility in Temple for Alzheimer’s patients.

Mrs. Matthews has good days, but then there are times when the only thing she wants is to go home, said her daughter Karen Kinnison.

“That’s hard and it hurts,” she said of watching her mother decline.

Mrs. Matthews also has two sons, Bill Kinnison of Salado and Ken Kinnison of San Antonio. She has six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Last week, Mrs. Matthews was happy to discuss her life in Salado, and while she had lapses and repeated phrases, she was upbeat and talkative.

Mrs. Matthews was married to a military man, Paul Kinnison, and raised her family all over the world. When Kinnison retired, they settled in Salado where they opened Paul and Virginia Antiques and Art in 1963.

“We did enjoy it,” Mrs. Matthews said. “It’s been so interesting and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

When her husband died, Mrs. Matthews and some other Salado ladies opened the Women’s Exchange.

Every Friday the Exchange had a bake sale with the baked goods furnished by the members, said Ms. Kinnison.

“There would be a line of people waiting at the door when the Exchange opened,” Ms. Kinnison said.

Mrs. Matthews eventually re-married to George Matthews, a Methodist pastor. They were together for 27 years.

When asked what she liked the most about Salado, Mrs. Matthews mentioned her house, especially the porch.

When she visits Salado, Mrs. Matthews still enjoys sitting on the porch and waving to people as they walk by, said Ms. Kinnison.

Ms. Kinnison said some of her fondest memories of growing up were of the different countries the family lived in.

During the family’s travels, Mrs. Matthews, an artist since high school, painted whatever caught her fancy - castles, landscapes, farmers’ markets. She then took up needlepoint.

Mrs. Matthews asked whether she was doing any different crafts now and was reminded that she’s seldom without a skein of yarn.

“You go to town around here crocheting,” said Deanna Lueckenotte, community relations manager of AlzCare.

“Oh, really,” Mrs. Matthews said.

Ms. Kinnison said she has an afghan her mother made for her that is neither square, round, rectangular nor oval.

For the complete article, pick-up your copy of the Temple Daily Telegram or subscribe now to receive the paper every day!