"In the bulb there is a flower; in the seed, an apple tree; In cocoons, a hidden promise: butterflies will soon be free!" the words of Annabel Sawyer Kropff's favorite hymn rang out at the memorial service held in Gilroy last Saturday to honor her long life. Born in 1910, Annabel was just two months shy of turning 98 when she passed June 30.

She was an expert quilter and seamstress who sewed all of her children's clothing and made their prom and wedding dresses by hand. If you were to stop by to say hello, she would point out particular squares of fabric in the quilt hanging in her entryway.

"That material is from a dress I made for my husband's mother," she might say. "Cloth was only seven and a half cents a yard. Good cloth was 10 cents a yard; this was during Depression time, you know."

Soon she would have you out back, bowl in hand, harvesting greens with her. Or climbing up into her trees to pick peaches. You wouldn't go home empty-handed.

When her husband John, a precision machinist, retired in 1966, they bought a place behind Uvas Creek where the pear orchards went from their house all the way down to Christmas Hill Park. John and Annabel were do-it-yourselfers who designed their own house, and Annabel loved picking out the materials, watching it being built, and planning all the landscaping.

Blessed with a green thumb, there's nothing that wouldn't grow for Annabel, of both the human and plant variety. Annabel's family lived year round on the fruit and vegetables from the huge garden she planted, harvested, and then canned and froze. At 94, she was still wielding a shovel from her walker.

Annabel used the lessons of cooking, gardening and sewing to teach her five children and 14 grandchildren the important lessons of life:

n When cooking, it's all about prep work, but be ready to substitute as you go along.

n Nature abhors a vacuum, so always fill a hole. Whatever you leave unfilled comes back to haunt you if you don't deal with it now. Keep in touch with Mother Earth; keep growing. And if you don't deal with critters, they'll deal with you.

n Whatever project you start, finish what you have begun. Be proud of your work.

She was a lifelong student of every subject under the sun. One novel she read later in life was called "Outlander," which is a story of the determination and courage of a WWII nurse who suddenly finds herself in the middle of clan wars in 18th-century Scotland. She survives every peril, uses her advanced knowledge to help all those around her, and maintains the ties of family throughout many generations. Her grandson gave her the book, saying he saw a lot of his grandmother in the story of the Scottish time-traveling warrior.

"From the past will come the future; what it holds, a mystery,

In our end is our beginning; in our time, infinity;

In our doubt there is believing; in our life, eternity,

In our death, a resurrection; at the last, a victory,

Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see."

- Natalie A. Sleeth, "Hymn of Promise"

Just a month before she died, Annabel said, "I don't want to go yet - I want to finish my book first!" And it was a thick book. I have no doubt that she is on her way now to enjoying the next dimension, learning all she can as she goes. Annabel is one for the ages.

Kat Teraji is communications coordinator for a nonprofit organization that benefits women and children. Reach her at kattoy@verizon.net.

Kat Teraji Kat Teraji is communications coordinator for a large non-profit organization that benefits women and children. Her column appears every Thursday in the Take 2 section of the Dispatch. You can reach her at kattoy@verizon.net.