Marion Julia Hannan

My Memories of Aunt Minnie

by Charline (Greeno) Hutton

10 Apr 2002

Marion Julia Hannan was the first of four daughters born to William James and Margaret Beatrice (Kane) Hannan. She was born on March 12, 1894 in Illinois.

"Minnie," or Aunt Minnie as we all called her, was a born homemaker and mother. Unfortunately, she was never given the chance to be either, except to all of her nieces and nephews. She was very loving and caring to all of us and was like a second mother to my brothers and me when we were growing up.

Aunt Minnie was a very devout Roman Catholic, who attended mass on Sundays and all holy days. She was a true Christian in that she was kind to everyone and made many sacrifices for her family. She never married and some say that was because Grandmother Hannan wanted her to stay at home and care for her sisters so that Grandmother could travel to lectures and practice her holistic medicine. When Aunt Marion would have a boyfriend who was interested in marriage, Grandmother would run him off with one made up story or another, so consequently Minnie remained single.

Aunt Minnie was a good cook and loved to bake. We had an old Black Walnut tree in the back yard at 403 Highland Street in Boulder, CO; and she would sit out on the back step and crack those walnuts, then add them to a cake, cookies, or fudge that she was planning to make. She also made the most wonderful cream puffs.

Minnie was small in stature, with the typical Irish beauty in her gray-blue eyes, fair skin, and black hair. I never heard her utter a harsh word about, or to, anyone. Instead, she was very soft spoken and gentle.

Minnie worked for many years as what we now refer to as a dental technician, or assistant. She retired from this profession and was living on a small pension. Nevertheless, she always managed to give all of her nieces and nephews Christmas gifts and birthday cards with ten dimes in them. She never forgot any one of our birthdays.

Aunt Minnie mended all of her own clothes and nylons, and helped my mother with some of ours—everything done by hand and perfect to the last stitch. Her hobby was embroidery, which she did expertly. It was as flawless on the back as on the front.

As she grew older, Minnie became ill with Parkinson's Disease, but she managed to walk to church each Sunday and also during the week if she felt the need. When she wasn't able to make it to church, the Father would come to bring her Communion. He once told me that Minnie should have been a nun—and that she would be...in Heaven.

The nuns from the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception would occasionally visit Minnie to have tea in the afternoon. It was they who found Minnie when she fell out of bed, which led her to a hospital, and then to a nursing home when it was determined she could no longer live alone. It was soon afterwards (on January 15, 1973) that she passed away—our sweet Aunt Minnie. She lived to be 78 years old.