Birth date: Mar 4, 1930 Death date: Mar 17, 2023
Merla Alves, age 93, loving mother of two, and adoring wife for 68 years to late husband Anthony “Buddy” Alves, passed away in the early hours of March 17 after a courageous but short-lived battle. Merla was born in 1930 in a cop Read Obituary
Merla Alves, has always just been Aunt Merla to me. From the minute I met the Alves when I was 5 years old, Micalyn and I immediately became friends and have pretty much been inseparable ever sense. Aunt Merla accepted us as the dynamic duo and let our imaginations run wild with fun, laughter, crafts everywhere all the time, 100’s of sleep overs, hot summers in the sprinklers, on our bikes to the pool, meeting us with towels and cool aid (well whatever juice was in the tupperware pitcher in the fridge)and a smile.
We spent a big part of our time in the backyard running away from Sleestaks and jumping over the “hot lava” to make it to the safety of the playhouse to make our mudpies. Pretty soon we would see Aunt Merla jumping over the hot lava herself to make sure we actually pulled ourselves away to eat some real lunch and not the pies we had just made.
Aunt Merla was just filled with love and I knew it every time I walked into the door, without knocking, and went straight to the fridge to see what great snacks were waiting, she would exclaim in a sweet, high schrill, “Oh, Peeeney Jo is here, just make yourself at home,” and I knew she meant it. I would come to their house every day after school until my family got home, and Aunt Merla would meet me with a snack and have my favorite cartoon on to help me relax from my hard day at elementary school. I personally copied this with my own family and made sure our house was open to our son’s friends. They knew that everyone was welcome and Yes, they could look in the pantry and the fridge, without asking, could have whatever food they may find and had endless sleep overs all done with the grace and love with the examples show from Aunt Merla.
I knew I would be included in the Alves’ family vacations. There was the annual week at Clear Lake, where Aunt Merla would find me a cot to sleep in because she knew I was afraid there might be a snake on the ground or a favorite memory of going to the Hearst Castle, which was magical, but she assured us there was no shark in the pool at the hotel that we were staying at because Mikie and I had just seen Jaws and knew there had to be a shark in the deep end!
Aunt Merla did make me feel special, loved and just part of the family. However, I was not special, this was just who she was, spreading love to whomever was blessed to meet her. One of the last times I saw her was at the house not too long ago, (Yes, to have dinner at the family table). Aunt Merla shriled, “Oh good Peeeney Jo is here to visit,” and I knew I was at my second home with my family and my second Mom. She will be loved by all and will be terribly missed especially from her biggest fan that lived down the street.
In fondest of loving memory,
Penny Jo (King) Hodges
