Here is a bright spot from the past year of frustration and uncertainty; it should bring a smile to your face and find a warm place in your heart.

At 102 years of age Mary Jo Robins has not forgotten how to make the pies that she used to bake for her family, guests and friends, especially for her home church, Salem United Methodist. She no longer resides close to Haven Beach in the Diggs area of Mathews where she lived for 97 years. Mary Jo now resides at Riverside Sanders Retirement Community in Gloucester.

One day last fall the kitchen at Sanders was graced with the presence of a long-standing and excellent cook, Mary Jo Robins. She and her great-granddaughter, Emma Wood, RN, were there where “Gangy” (this is what all the 13 grandchildren and one great-grandchild call her) showed Emma how to make pies. Working from memory, using no recipes, Mary Jo directed and also took part in the baking.

Emma wrote following the day with her great-grandmother: “It has been hard for isola...