MARY LOUISE ODOM VIRGINIA BEACH – Mary Louise Odom, 85, of Virginia Beach, was relieved of her suffering and went to live amongst one of her dear Lord’s many mansions on September 14, 2016. She was born on February 8, 1931, the same day as James Dean. She never really cared much about that fact, but I always said it to help her feel special, the way she made all of us feel. Because, you see, whenever she smiled it was as if rain clouds had parted and a rainbow had formed over the most beautiful garden on earth, directly under heaven, where she now resides. Everyone loved her: her nurses, her family, someone passing through her life for a mere moment in time … everyone. The souls fortunate enough to have known her and the family members who survived her are her faithful husband Henry, her loyal daughter Regina, her honorable military son Jeff, her popular and well-liked by all son Barry and her creative son Ernest, me. And although we selfishly grieve for her body to be among us, we know she is in a better place, a place so wondrous that the best of us dare not even imagine; a place where love is its own self-generating force and darkness can find no space. I’m just guessing now,but at least I know now why mom likes it there so much. And with the fall approaching, with its leaves skipping down our streets and the sudden breeze gently whispering my name, I’ll know that’s my mom. She’ll always be with me.