Letter to the Editor

To the Editor:

On Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2021, Eva Mae Eshelman left her earthly home to be with the Lord. While Eva’s entire family is saddened by her departure, we are all comforted by the memories of her life. Eva Eshelman was a pillar of the Cove community. She loved this area and the life that a rural, small town in Pennsylvania could offer her. In her life, she raised ten children while co-managing the Eshelman family farm with her husband.

This life may appear simple to many; however, Eva’s self-sacrificing love for her family created a lasting legacy. I am just one of her legacies, a great-granddaughter who was by her side for many days and years. I grew up on the Eshelman farm, watched as my Gram Eshelman taught me everything she knew, listened to her stories, and decided to be just like her when I grew up. Well, I have grown up and I am proud of everything that Eva was, is, and forever shall be. Eva Mae Eshelman is my role model for what I need to be in my life. I write this letter not just to reminisce on the past and my memories of Eva, but to offer you the wisdom that I have cherished throughout the years.

Eva Mae Eshelman told her children, “Do not cry when I die. I will be happy.”

Eva was happy throughout her life. She sought joy in simplicity and in her family. For all of us today, life is too fast, too focused on the wrong things. In remembering Eva’s life, I urge all of us to reflect on what truly brings joy to our lives. To find true happiness, we need to relish the same simplicity that Eva lived in each day. Cherish your families, your friends, and all the people around you. Let go of negativity, anger, distrust, and unforgiveness. Show kindness openly and readily, especially with those who need it most. And, most importantly, work as hard as you can, in whatever you do, not for fame or fortune but for the simple fact of doing a good job each day.

Eva may be gone from our world, but the life lessons that she passed on continue to thrive and grow in all of us that follow her in life. In her time on Earth, Eva Mae centered herself around the ideals of perseverance and family. Eva was the backbone of our family, the glue that kept all of us together even through the most difficult of times, but now I want the entire community to share in her life, her memory, and her wisdom. You may have never met Eva Mae, but you can continue her legacy, alongside the rest of her family, by finding your happiness and your own meaning of simplicity.

Hailey M. Ritchey

Winchester, Virginia

Editor’s Note: Eshelman’s obituary can be found on Page A-2.