Flowers on Sunday & A Memory

It was a grey morning at the Farmers’ Market here in Baltimore, and with all of the rain we’ve been having, it looked as though I was getting the last of the peonies. The vendors either had tightly budded stems or ones that were all of they way open. I picked out several pale pink ones, and then bought the only fuchsia one in the bunch. They just smell so incredible and their scent really fills my small house. 

Today is the anniversary of my father’s death. I had just started writing Pigtown*Design a few months earlier and after he died, I came home and wrote a tribute to him. I am reprinting it today so that those of you who weren’t reading Pigtown*Design in May of 2007, will know what an amazing and interesting man he was.

My father passed away this afternoon after a long and happy life. He was born in Nottingham England in 1924. He served in the British Navy during the war years and spent time in Africa, Asia and India. After the war ended, he emigrated to the US in 1947. He became a US citizen in 1953, but also retained his UK citizenship. He also married my mother that year.Dad was a writer for the Baltimore Sun and he maintained ties to the paper for many years, writing articles and features for the paper. He then moved to become the director of public relations at the Walters Art Gallery where he initiated many art in public programs, including the Art Abroad trips to Europe. Finally, he was the special projects for the Baltimore County Library system. After his retirement, he wrote for many publications on a range of topics.My father enjoyed many hobbies, especially reading, gardening and collecting. He was president of the Maryland Horticulture Society and the Baltimore Bibliophiles. He was very interested in history, cooking, travelling and classical music and opera. He loved to read and at one point had more than 4,000 books in his library. He read the Sun, New York Times and Washington Post every day.My father, just days short of his 83rd birthday, will be missed by all who knew him, especially his three daughters and one son, his seven (soon to be nine) grandchildren and of course, my mother, his wife of 54 years.

Even as recently as a few weeks ago, people have told me how much they loved him and that they miss him. We all do, too.

Geoffrey William Fielding. Born: Nottingham, England, May 28, 1924. Died: Baltimore, Maryland, May 23, 2007. In between, a full life lived well.