"For her to be only 4 feet, 11 inches tall.. a small frame.. and her mama's mouth.. she spoke her mind and you couldn't help, but love here."
That comment brought chuckles from the audience of people who attended a memorial service for Marion Harold, better known to the folks in Riverview as "Squeaky." She passed away on February 28, 2014, at the age of 53 and was buried in Newport News, VA, where she lived after Riverview.
The memorial service was held on Saturday, March 15th in the Riverview Community Room at the V.O. Dobbins Sr. Complex in Kingsport, Squeaky's hometown.
Donna (Steele) Loftin amused the group, reminiscing about the Squeaky we all knew growing up, talking about her brother Brian and her baby sister Tamela, also known to everybody as Tammy.
"Later on in life," Donna told the crowd, "Squeaky became the mother of Shemar and Jazmin and B-B.. you all remember when they used to run around here." She also drew a laugh when she mentioned that nobody ever knew B-B's real name.
"To me, Squeaky was good to kids," she said.. "always had a lollipop in her hand or in her mouth. Kids loved her for that, that's why they always clung to her. You always wondered, but them kids clung to her because they were trying to get that lollipop out of her mouth." That also drew a laugh from folks who loved and miss her.
"Squeaky did something that the whole world needs to do, and that's show love," she said. "If you didn't know that or if you didn't love Squeaky, you wouldn't be here today at this service. Squeaky played a part in everybody's life in each of her 53 years. She left something for us to think about. There will be little things that we will see that are going to bring back good things that Squeaky did. That's part of her legacy when you look back. We are all here to leave a good legacy."
"If you look at it realistically or spiritually," she told the group, "something good comes out of all of our lives."
A highlight of the celebration of Squeaky's life, was when her friends and family stood up one by one, and gave testimonials of their experiences growing up with her. The tears flowed, and the remembrances were plentiful.Donna also addressed the family, Squeaky's survivors.
"We want you to know that we all love you, as much as we loved Squeaky," she said. "We might not always have money, but we can always share love. Love goes a long way, when money is long gone. She touched the hearts of a lot of people. They say it takes a village to raise a child. Riverview was Squeaky's village. We need to spread her love from person to person."
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