Kenneth Poe Funeral Services

My Dear Delery Cousins,

I apologize for being late with this note. Your family holds a dear place in my heart and history. And in that, your mother reigns over every memory I have of our times together. The last one when I was eighteen and passing through town on my way to an Outward Bound excursion out of Morgantown. I stopped by for an afternoon and while y’all are all cool, your mom was the coolest. We chatted. She asked questions and shared her thoughts all while minding every single thing going on throughout the house like an All-Seeing Military Commander! I may have stayed the night, but then I was on my way to the mountains, but not before I took a photo in your living room of my shod feet in a vast sea of your shoes. I’d never seen a collection as that all at once. It would be nice to try it again sometime. Until then, I wish you all peace and harmony and wonderful memories to last each of you all your years.
With love and fondness,
Sean

Hi Melanie and Catherine. I just wanted to extend to you and your wonderfully large family my deepest sympathies for your loss. I wish I could take some of your pain but all I can offer is an assurance that eventually you will smile and laugh much more when reflecting on her and have far fewer tears. I hope that day comes to all of you in the not too distant future. Take care and chin up.

Brian

My pleasure to know Miss Penny for about 20 yrs. Always a smile on her face when I visited twice weekly, although she wasn’t always glad to see me come. She never gave up and tried to do everything I asked. I miss her and our visits! She left a huge mark on my life I will cherish forever! I love you Miss Penny!

My deepest sympathy to all of the Delery family. Penny was like a second mother to me. She gave so much to so many and is missed more than I have words to express. Until we meet again, my friend.

Wow, Ethan, I want to meet you. You nailed it. As Penny's baby sister I, while having lived a full pendulum swing from her, have always believed that she celebrated each child's individually. You are one of those lucky souls she touched.

There was a time when I was the only grandchild… I don’t remember those days due to being a baby toddler at the oldest point of that tenure, but I can somehow feel the memories of what it was like for our Granny to finally have a grandchild of her own. Being a parent now myself, that feeling of having your own child changes with time as they grow older and leave the nest. Eventually, while they’re still your baby girl or baby boy, they go off on their own to live their lives. Eventually and if you’re lucky, your children bring their own children into the world - and you get the chance at a second life to love and spoil a child and experience the magic and wonder of that child all over again. It’s an honor that I feel most parents look forward too after their babies grow up, and Granny LOVED that honor with all her heart.

Granny was many things, she was smart, bold, stubborn, wild, funny… but to me my greatest memory of her was her creativity. She taught me how to draw. She showed me how to capture moments of time through art. And through that knowledge she imparted to me, I developed a skill that carried me well into my adult years and served me with a successful and fulfilling life & career - all because my Granny helped cultivate that sense of wonder and creative mentality in me.

It’s hard to admit, but the last decade has been rough for my family, and Granny butted heads with a lot of us due to that stubborn nature of hers we all know too well. It confused me, to say the least, because Granny to me was that creative dreamer… the one who showed me the power of art and imagination. I didn’t understand why she was acting the way she did, or why she said the words she spoke. I’ve learned as I grown older that sometimes, we don’t know how to say what we feel… so things may not always mean what they sound like. But in lieu of the conflict, we drifted apart… Time flew by, day after day, after month, after year, and contact became scarce at best. It breaks my heart to say I hadn’t seen her for years. I had gotten married, had a baby, moved multiple states and I hadn’t seen Granny for any of it. That was until this last summer when I came home, I finally got the chance to go see her again.

The most remarkable things happened… Although her health had deteriorated, there she was - just as sweet, funny, smart, stubborn and bold as she’d always been. It was like time froze and she never changed, and I was still that little toddler, the one and only grandchild to this amazing woman… and somehow, in light of all the issues she was plagued with, there was a twinkle in her eye, like that beautiful magic I once knew had always been there and I just didn’t look hard enough to see it before. It was in that moment that I truly recognized the legacy that she was leaving behind. One of love and care through one of the biggest families I have been known.

I am very thankful for the lessons that she taught me, the moments that she gifted me and the love she showed me. I will always miss her and hold love for her in my heart. It saddens me beyond all belief that I won’t be able to be there to see her before she goes to her final resting place, but I will be there in heart, forever, and always. Rest In Peace Granny - you will be missed, but never forgotten.

Love your first grandchild,

Ethan

She was a sweet lady and dear friend.I enjoy many years with her at horse barns .and her house.she will be missed.