Photo shows Passmore standing beside the portrait her husband painted of her, for her, holding a picture of him on their wedding day. Photo by Beverly Adams, Richfield

Carol Passmore Collier sends us this story about her mother, who is a Kentucky and Louisville fan both, and lives at Richfield:

You may know both Kentucky and Louisville fans, but I know one who is very special, my 89-year-old mother. Last weekend’s Final Four brought a dilemma: which team to cheer.

My mother, Mary Glenn Jenkins Passmore was born and raised in Whitesburg, Ky.

She met her future husband (my dad) in high school. His family originated from Louisville, Ky. The Kentucky ties only begin here. My grandfather and his two brothers graduated from the University of Louisville College of Pharmacy. At one time, there were three separate drugstores with the Passmore name. My dad followed his Dad’s footsteps and later graduated from The University of Kentucky, only this was after serving in WWII and spending 2 1/2 years in Africa. The pharmacy school moved from Louisville to Lexington and dad became one of the first graduates out of the new school.

After the war, my mother and dad married in Lexington then lived outside of Louisville. Mother worked as a bookkeeper for an upscale department store in Louisville,Ky. Later, my family moved to Norton, Virginia when my grandfather bought a drugstore there and my dad went to work for him.

Now my mother lives in an assisted living facility at Richfield in Salem. She has been a resident of Salem for three years, following her daughter and her husband to the area. Her love for Kentucky sports has deep roots. When Kentucky or Louisville plays on television, she will stay up late until the game ends. During NCAA March Madness, she’s been doing this a lot.

On Saturday night, Mary Glenn watched both teams play each other and I guess, hoped the best team won. She would have to answer that question. On Monday night, (tonight!) fingers crossed, her Kentucky team will win!

[Now, onto another dilemma! Carol writes:] My brother, Jack Passmore, lives with is wife in Kansas. I’m guessing he will cheer with his mother for Kentucky since it’s coming down to a Kansas final game. Perhaps his neighbors won’t mind!