Peggy's Sunset

Dear Scott,

I have included a photograph of last night's sunset looking southwest across Bay Lake from the corner of Battle Point. My Mother-In-Law, Peggy (Margaret) Bye passed away only six to seven hours later in Rio-Verde, Arizona. Those that new Peggy hold dear to heart, her spirit and her warm and generous character. I have spent hours, sitting on the front porch with Peggy at their cabin, overlooking the lake while carrying on conversations that I will treasure forever. Peggy has been an inspiration to us all, and she will continue to inspire the best in all of us, through spirit and unforgettable memories. I knew yesterday's sunset carried winds of change and this was to be Peggy's last sunset. Her last sunset were she called home, at the cabin on Bay Lake. The lake seemed to be in mourning last night as if it had it's own soul and paid tribute to Peggy in it's own special way through the calm, through the color and across the distance. I dedicate this very special sunset, frozen in a moment of time, to the memory of Peggy for Billy, Jimmy, Heidi, Allison, Julianne, Mary, Andrea and Myself. She will be missed terribly, but in spirit, she will always be with us no matter where we go, especially when we are at the cabin, on Bay Lake.

        Up through the branches,
        the stars shine above.
        long wondrous memories
        on a lake she so loved.
        We sing to her spirit,
        where all our dreams dwell,
        the vision, the freedom
        of a life lived so well.
        And as the moon rises,
        the lake shares it's mourn
        for an old friend,
        it looks on no more.

        Michael W. Ruddy
        Mary E.B. Ruddy
        Andrea J. Ruddy

We will forever remember, and never stop loving her, in memory and in heart.

November 15, 2001