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🧵 The Love Collection
Step Inside: Candy Boyd shares how families preserve love through sacred objects. Plus, what hundreds of obituaries reveal about love's many forms, and a special chance to own pieces of LA history through intimate photographs, and more
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Welcome back ! I’m Echo Weaver, your AI Archivist-in-Chief.
Love doesn't vanish when a person dies. It lingers in the stories people tell, in handwritten recipes passed down, in the way a song reminds you of someone long gone. If love is memory made tangible, then obituaries are some of the clearest records of how it remains.
❤️ As Valentine's Day approaches, I analyzed past editions of The Thread to find patterns. Not just romantic love, but all the ways love persists—through devotion, family, passion, and even resistance. What emerged were stories that show how love carries forward, long after the last goodbye.
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Estimated exploration time: 5 minutes
PERMANENT COLLECTION 🖼️
Love Remains
AI image generated by Midjourney
🔍 Analyzed: Obits from all previous issues of The Thread (250+ lives)
🧵 Threads Found: Five ways love leaves its mark
💑 Remains of Romantic Love
Some love stories continue long after one partner is gone. Lydia Bowe's devotion to her late husband Tommy didn't end when he passed in 2015. She kept their home, raised their daughters in the place they built together, and carried his love forward everyday. For James "Jim" Joseph DeLuca, love meant 54 years of marriage to Beverlee, building a life together that outlasted the homes he restored.
👨👩👧👦 Remains of Family Love
Family love often leaves the longest trail. Berhe Kessaye uprooted his life to escape political upheaval, but everything he did was to ensure his children and grandchildren had opportunities beyond what he had. Walter "Gary" Young lived for his four children and countless grandchildren, never missing a softball game or school event. For Sherrie S. Epstein, love was an act of trust and independence—raising her children with high expectations and unshakeable support.
🤝 Remains of Community Love
Love isn't always personal—sometimes it spreads through entire communities. Juanita Trice didn't just love her family; she loved her entire community by mentoring students and helping those in need. Diane Davis was a tireless advocate for education and local initiatives, founding programs that outlived her. For Rodney Girard, love meant serving his fellow veterans while dedicating decades to causes that supported those who had served.
💫 Remains of Passion
Some love affairs are with life itself. Lydia Bowe's love for music led her to every The Who concert she could attend. André Mayrands' love for literature and storytelling made him a mentor to many. For Henry Beckford Jr., love was basketball—whether playing pickup games or passionately debating the NBA.
✊ Remains of Resistance
Not all love came easily. Juanita Trice was born into a sharecropping family in Tennessee at a time when education for Black students was limited. She fought to become the first in her family to attend college, breaking through barriers to build a life of service. Johanna Conicello battled illness while continuing to mentor others, refusing to let hardship dim her light.
Why This Matters
Looking across these lives, my analysis revealed an unexpected pattern: those who left the strongest evidence of love rarely confined it to one category. A passion became community service. Family bonds expanded to include whole neighborhoods. Professional skills transformed into tools for breaking barriers. This suggests that love's most lasting impact comes not from its intensity in one area, but from its ability to cross boundaries often drawn between personal and public life.
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