Mother’s Day brings back memories for locals

LYNN – Georgette Hill worked almost every day up until the last ones of her life.The Lynn resident, who worked 30 years in a dentist office, died shortly after Christmas 2009 at the age of 70.But the mother and proud grandmother left behind a legacy of hard work; a legacy her daughters and their families will honor as they celebrate their third Mother’s Day without her.I’m the woman I am today, a strong woman, because of her,” said her oldest daughter, Bonnie Hill.Bonnie’s sister, 46-year-old Dawn Maitland, said for all the toughness their mother exuded, she was also a gentle, likeable woman.”People were drawn to her,” Maitland said. “? I went to her for everything. Anytime something happened in my life, she was the first person I called.”Maitland still catches herself picking up the phone to call her mother.And Bonnie Hill said Georgette Hill’s many grandchildren are getting used to not hearing the phone ring on their birthdays, their grandmother on the other end.”That first year, every time someone’s birthday came, we waited for the phone to ring,” Hill said.On Sunday, the family will celebrate its beloved matriarch with a cookout at Maitland’s home before they head to where Georgette Hill is buried and lay pink impatiens on her grave.”We didn’t lose just our mother, she was our best friend. Not a day goes by that we don’t miss her,” Maitland said.The Hill sisters and members of two other Lynn families honored their mothers before Mother’s Day by sharing family stories with The Daily Item.On Sunday, 22-year-old Thyda Danh will cross a stage, diploma in hand as she graduates from Newbury College in Brookline with a bachelor’s degree in hotel administration.Her mother, Cambodian immigrant Sokun Pech, will spend her Mother’s Day in the stands cheering on her daughter, who is the first in the family to receive a college degree.”Seeing her daughter graduate from college, I’m sure she’s happy about that,” Danh said by phone this week.Pech moved to Lynn 30 years ago as a refugee from Cambodia’s brutal civil war. She worked odd jobs raising Danh and two other children, mostly as a cashier at McDonald’s.Danh spoke with her mother sometimes about what Pech survived in Cambodia. But many more conversations with her mother centered around education, which Pech put a strong emphasis on, Danh said.”When I was in kindergarten, we used to lay in bed before I’d go to sleep and she’d make me memorize all of the states and the capitals,” she said.Danh said her mother gave up and risked a lot to ensure her children’s future. And this Sunday, she’ll honor her mother’s sacrifice with possibly the best gift of all: a college degree.”I do realize now that I’m getting older and more mature how hard she’s worked,” Danh said of her mother. ” ? I realize how much effort she’s put into raising our family.”This Mother’s Day will be bittersweet for one Lynn family.Lauren Casey died just after Mother’s Day four years ago when a vehicle traveling on Route 128 struck her as she waited for help with her stranded car. She was 24.Her brother, Tim Casey, said Lauren’s death devastated the family, but especially his mother, who was extremely close to Lauren.”My mother and my sister had such a special relationship,” he said by phone from his current home in Washington, D.C. “I would say they were probably best friends.”Tim Casey said his 57-year-old mother, Judy, is young at heart: She and Lauren were the first to start the dance party at his wedding almost six years ago.”She’s always hip and cool,” he said of his mother.But with Lauren gone, Tim Casey said his mother’s demeanor has changed. The moments of spontaneity are rarer and often need coaxing out, he said.”In certain moments I can still get her to be that person,” he said.And even though she soldiers on in life without her daughter, Tim Casey said every Mother’s Day is a painful reminder for Judy Casey of what’s missing.”It’s hard, and kind of every passing year is a little bit of ?,” he paused. “It’s easi