Yesterday the Markee family tree was shaken to its roots. The matriarch of our family, Teresa “Tree” Markee was taken from us. I will never recover from the unnecessary downward spiral of events I witnessed that lead to her passing. I need to focus on who my mother was and what a unique and beautiful individual she was. I will take solace in remembering our personal moments together and how special she made each one of us feel in this large, continuously growing family. Even if you’ve never met my mother personally, you know the kind of woman she was just by knowing any one of us. My niece Nicole states it perfectly: “Yesterday, my life changed once again. The world lost a beautiful soul, my grandma Teresa A Markee. To say these past couple of months have been a breeze would be a complete lie. To say my faith and beliefs have remained strong would be an understatement. But here is what I do know, my grandma was a firm believer, quite possibly the hardest working women I know, and by far one of the strongest people in my life. She was married at the young age of 18 to my grandfather William Bill Markee and embarked on a 64 year marriage. She raised 12 children and embraced their spouses and significant others as her own as the years went on. Those children gave her 38 grandchildren adding spouses and significant others into the mix… followed by 9 great grandchildren. In a family this large, one would think it is easy to get lost and forgotten. But she always had a way to make you feel special. Life was never just handed to her… in fact she was still running her own business up until about 6 weeks ago (she was 82 years old). She taught her children to fight for what you want. To stay strong through EVERYTHING and to have faith. And at the end of the day, family is the most important. Those children taught their children, those same values and those will continue for years to come. There is a little part of me that thinks her heart was so broken from losing my dad 5 months ago. Which, I am the first that can relate. I am so grateful that you were chosen to be my grandma and through that you gave me one amazing father. At times, I am sure I didn’t deserve either of you. Yesterday, you got to be with my dad again. And I hope your heart was whole again. ♥️”