Pleasant Grove
Hello All,
I begin my passing along the sad news of a death in our extended family. Evelyn K. Confligliacco passed away on March 22, 2013 after a short illness.
My parents enjoyed Evelyn very much, and made it a point to visit her whenever they had the opportunity.
The following is her obituary
Evelyn K. Configliacco
(January 10, 1916 - March 22, 2013)
Evelyn K. Configliacco, 97 years young, lifetime
resident of Lead, SD passed away March 22, 2013 in Rapid City, SD after a
short illness. Vigil services will be at 7p.m., Monday, March 25, 2013
at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Lead with visitation one hour prior
at the church. Mass of Christian Burial will be at 2p.m., Tuesday,
March 26, 2013 at the church with Father Kerry Prendiville as Celebrant,
burial will follow at Mountain Lawn Cemetery.
Evelyn was born January
10, 1916 to Venere and Mary (Vidano) Configliacco. She attended school
in Lead and graduated from Lead High School. Evelyn worked as a chief
telephone operator at the telephone office in Lead. She enjoyed the
young girls and always was a mother figure and they always looked up to
her and came to her for advice. She always had a positive attitude, and
made the best of everything. She transferred to the Deadwood office for
the last years of her career.
Evelyn is survived by her brother,
Leslie Configliacco of Lead, nephew, Michael Configliacco (Barbara) of
Ohio and their daughter, Leslie Ann Silva of Ohio, niece, Connie Holso
(Thomas) of Lead, and their sons, Anthony Holso (Debra) of Rapid City
and Timothy Holso of Spearfish and daughter, Tamara Kintz (Randy) of
Pierre, nephew, William Configliacco, (Darla) of Utah and their sons;
Tony Configliacco (Becky) of Alaska, Bruce McConville (Wendy) of Idaho
and Bryan McConville (Jill) of Utah and numerous great-great and
great-great-great nieces and nephews. Evelyn was preceded in death by
her parents, and brothers, Theodore, Russel, Fred, and Raymond.
Evelyn
was the matriarch of the family, she was very generous, spoke well of
everyone, she was a positive influence on family and friends, and
touched everybody’s heart that she met. Evelyn had faith in God, family,
and friends, Evelyn with all our love, “Salute`.”
My Appreciation for Easter Peeps
Today is a special day for members of the Peeps Appreciation Society
(PAS) like me. The PAS works diligently to foster the celebration of
Easter and to insure its place in our society. While many of us are
Christians, and understand the religious significance of Easter, the PAS
is a way for all people, religious or not, Christian or not, to
celebrate the day when the Peeps make their yearly appearance on grocery
shelves to warm the hearts of both children and adults.
Digging in the Battlestar
I stopped by the new Discovery Space Center in Pleasant Grove on Saturday morning to visit with center director, Casey Voeks. The Discovery Space Center is the newest Space Center using my curriculum and experience / simulation based methodology. I'm working with them as their Director of Education. I wanted to see how things went on their Friday Overnight Camp. Casey seemed confused. The dark pouches under his eyes told a story of many late nights and early mornings. His hair was unkempt and his glasses slightly askew, which is all normal for Casey; but if his glasses were a ship at sea, the Captain would be closing the water tight doors and preparing the passengers and crew to abandon ship if the list got any steeper.
I found Mark Daymont and his brother Dave and suggested we take Casey out for an hour or so for lunch, fresh air and great company.
"Casey, do you want to go out for lunch with us?" I asked.
"Lunch?" Casey questioned.
"Yes, lunch - that meal many people eat at or around Noon," I explained. I noticed the concept of lunch was taking hold. The vacant expression which had previously squatted on his face, was being pushed aside by the look of someone experiencing a conscious enlightenment.
"Sure," he vocalized.
We settled on Chick-fil-a. Casey realized he'd forgotten his wallet when the nice lady at the window asked for his order.
"I can help you Sir?"
"Hummmm, aaaaaaa, I'll have a water," Casey mumbled.
It being Easter and all, I decided to do the Christian thing and rescue this poor soul, drowning in his own confusion. We got him a nice box of Chick-fil-a's version of McNuggets, sat him down, and let him work on getting the box open while the three of us talked about this, that and the other.
Our lunch was successful. We enjoyed a reasonable fast food meal and color was restored to Casey's face.
I noticed a large vacant lot with a dirt road next to Chick-fil-a as we left. I cranked the steering wheel and turned the Battlestar heavy to port. The lumbering Lincoln answered the helm and began a slow, titanic turn toward uncharted waters.
The Dirt Road
"What are you DOING?" Dave shouted from the back seat. I could see him reaching for the door handle in a vain attempt to throw himself from the car in the event it left the pavement. Mark grasped the seat belt with both hands and closed his eyes. Casey simply asked, "Where are going?"
The car left the parking lot. It was like going off planet. We were on a real dirt road. We were digging! "Put your phone away and enjoy this," I shouted to Dave. Dave was trying to call his wife but found it difficult as the car lurched one way, then the other as it navigated the bumps and rocks.
"Where are we?" Casey was trying to get his bearings. "Are we still in Utah?"
"Chick-fil-a was my last meal on Earth," Mark lamented.
Making the tough decision
I stomped on the brake. The car leaned forward - then settled into a gentle rocking motion. The dirt road rose sharply ahead, up and out of the field and back onto pavement. Part of me wanted to take it on. The more sensible part of me urged caution. Mark, Dave and I are on the large side and I feared high centering the car. It reminded me of a scene from the film The Perfect Storm, where the captain of the boat steered straight toward an oncoming mammoth wave. He knew the boat would roll if he took the wave at any angle other than straight on. Taking the sharp incline at an angle might have put us upside down. Taking the angle head on would high center the car. A decision had to be made, and being captain of the ship, it was me who had to make it. After a moment's deliberation, I ashamedly backed away. The passengers were happy, but I felt I'd let myself down for retreating in face of a real American challenge.
It was a three minute adventure none of us will forget. It made us a Band of Brothers.
Simply,
Victor