tika, tika kitten tummies!
Our beloved kossack, swampyankee left us on 4 January 2019. She had been in hospice for quite some time, being treated for lung cancer. Her scans in October were clear, but she was still waiting for a ground floor flat to come available. She was so ready to move into her own home, again, with her beloved pooties, Moses and Miss Pretty.
She contracted pneumonia, and that is what ultimately caused her death. That, and a system that doesn’t work for so many of us.
For the uninitiated, who might think that the pic at the top of the diary is odd for a remembrance diary…..
swampyankee adored kitten tummies and would’ve spent her whole life tickling them!! I wanted her to be remembered for the sweetness of her personality as much as for anything else.
She would laugh out loud to hear me call her “sweet” but it was so very true!! She had a soft and loving heart...even while she did not suffer fools gladly!
I first remember meeting swampyankee in the Pootie Peeps diaries. Oh, how she made me laugh, with her sharp wit and insightful comments. We shared a love of old movies, and I used to tease her about her ‘’lust’’ for Ronald Coleman. Truth be told, I didn’t blame her a bit...he was something! She loved novels from the turn of the 20th Century, too, and enjoyed reading things from Project Gutenberg.
She adored her own pooties (all of them!) and was just as loving toward all the furkids we Peeps shared. She often asked about different pooties and woozles and birds, as much as she asked about the humans.
This is her Community Quilt…...
Her obituary notice, published in the Republican American:
WATERBURY – Jennifer (Dickinson) Cirino, 63, beloved wife of the late Louis A. Cirino, entered peaceful rest on Friday, Jan. 4, 2019, at Wolcott View Manor in Wolcott.
Born in Bridgeport Nov. 21, 1955, she was a daughter of Barbara (Bowen) Dickinson of Florida and the late Robert Dickinson Sr. Jennifer was always a quick learner. She had a love for the written word that would astound many. Jenny’s favorite book was Cinderella, which she carried around getting everyone to read to her until she could read it herself. She was reading by the age of four, and there was not a book she has not read. One could ask for a quick review of a book and if she did not care for it, she had many to recommend.
Jennifer had many interests, including a love of history (especially the Civil War era), genealogy, astrology, old movies, classical music and animals, especially cats. Jennifer was a true Renaissance woman. Her vast intelligence and quick wit will be greatly missed.
Jennifer was predeceased by her husband, Louis Cerino, who was her knight in shining armor. She was happiest while she was with him.
In addition to her mother, she is survived by her aunt, Bernice Ahlgren; two sisters, Stepheny Cappel and Sue Ford; two brothers, Robert Dickinson Jr. and Harold Dickinson; many loving nieces, nephews and great nieces; a great nephew; two great-great nieces; and a great-great nephew.
Services will be at the convenience of the family. Ralph Hull Funeral Home, 161 W. Church St., Seymour, has been entrusted with her arrangements.
For more information, or to leave an online condolence, please visit us at hullfh.com.
There is no question that I will miss my friend, and that all of our communities here will be less without her.
Please feel free to share memories, quips, pics, and comments. Wherever she is now, our dear swampyankee will be laughing with us!
