“I hear you’ve got a birthday coming up,” I tell my Aunt Anne, the matriarch of my family, at my cousin’s graduation party.
She winced, but only for a moment before saying, “You know what? A lot of people get upset about milestone birthdays, but I like to think ‘Hey! I made it!’”
She turns 80 today and “made it” is an understatement.
She is an exceptional octogenarian who has spent her life serving God and everyone he has brought into her life. I recently stopped over her Perry Hall home for lunch and she revealed to me the secret to living well for eight decades.
“God always puts me where he wants me,” she said.
When I think about the wonderful person she is and the wonderful things she has done, I know it’s true.
Anne Chrest was born on Aug. 13, 1940, to my grandparents Frank and Lillian Chrest. She attended Seton High School in Baltimore, where she met her lifelong best friend Sandy Willard Day. She married Russell Covahey in December 1958. She was nearly 16 years older than my dad, Bob, so she and Uncle Russ let him tag along with their family, which included five children: Michael, Kathy, Ronald, Bonnie and Nancy.
When the children were young, the Covaheys lived in a cozy little house in Kingsville, which more or less fell into their laps through a combination of divine intervention and an unexpected act of generosity. Eventually, the family moved to Overlea and Anne began working in real estate around 1980. As the children grew up and married, Anne was blessed with twelve grandchildren and one great-grandchild. She moved to a beautiful rancher adjacent to Gunpowder State Park in Perry Hall and continues to live there in close proximity to her children and grandchildren. (In fact, Ron and his family moved across the street.)
Aunt Anne retired from real estate a few years ago, having helped numerous people find homes and the happiness that comes from them. She is a parishioner of St. Stephen in Bradshaw, and has developed a connection to Archbishop Curley High School in Baltimore, a place two of her brothers, six of her grandsons, one of her granddaughters and I have called home as students or teachers.
God always put Anne where he wanted her, but the other half of the story is that she recognized it and acted accordingly. She has helped me and everyone who knows her to see that there are some underlying truths to inhabiting the place where God puts you. Positivity, generosity, adaptability, and, above all, faith, are traits that Aunt Anne possesses in abundance. She inspires others with her words and example.
Aunt Anne lost her mother, her sister, her husband and her daughter to various forms of cancer. For as much pain and sorrow as she has endured through those trials, she has faith that she will be reunited with them in heaven. She is a beacon of strength and hope for our family when we are hurting.
Aunt Anne has also battled breast cancer twice and has supported her daughter Bonnie through two bouts of cancer. Both of them are survivors in body and in spirit and both attribute their recovery to having a positive mindset. They saw themselves healthy on the other side and that is where they ended up.They were able to frame their illness in a greater context and remember their obligations to loved ones and to God and focused on what they could do rather than what they could not.
Generosity is another one of Aunt Anne’s signature traits. She gives thoughtful and meaningful gifts like my great-grandmother’s china for my wedding and a fun microwave popcorn popper for my kids “just because”. She even sent Leo a stuffed cat after his went missing! (Naturally, we named her “Annie.”)
Besides giving the best gifts, she has always hosted the best holiday parties. She still likes to talk about “The Christmas Look,” which most first-timers experience when they see my entire family at once. I have photographic documentation of my husband’s “Christmas Look” in 2000. Everyone leaves her house feeling welcomed and, often, with a small gift.
Two weeks ago, Aunt Anne was wearing a beautiful, very long beaded necklace and my daughter Teagan started playing with it. My aunt took it off and offered it to Teagan. Who else would give someone the necklace off their neck?
Aunt Anne pays attention to what people like when she’s shopping for gifts, but she also recognizes when someone needs help and finds a way to serve them. She got me my first real job at her real estate office in 2002. Her motto was “Expect the Best from Me.” And everyone could. When people found out I was Anne’s niece they told me what a kind and thoughtful person she was. Even at 19, I already knew. Most of all, she is an empathetic listener and gives the best advice. She taught me that in real estate the word “you” should be used significantly more often than “I” or “me.” I think that’s true anywhere and Aunt Anne has mastered the concept.
One of the things I love the most about Aunt Anne is that she is always changing with the times. She was the first person I knew to have a car phone, is still a stylish dresser, and decorates her home so beautifully it could be on HGTV. She follows the news and loves to read, but most importantly she is able to keep up with the younger people. You can often find her surrounded by her grandchildren, nieces and nephews as she shares funny stories and discovers the latest trends.
My favorite memory, though, is when we were in New Orleans for my brother’s wedding this past February and she stayed out past midnight with us.
“Take a picture of us and send it to your dad,” she said. “I want my baby brother to see that I can stay up later than him.”
My Aunt Anne has always made me feel like I was one of her grandchildren. In reality, she makes everyone feel special. She is always trying to find a way to share joy with those who need it most. She can make an ordinary day feel like a celebration because, for her, it is. She has made it her life’s mission to literally and figuratively help others to feel at home. She is right where God wants her to be and I’m so glad he put her in my life.
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