Simplicity is a word that defined my mother’s life. She always wanted things simple like: directions, information, and appliances. Her desire was to always have a few complications as possible.

One of the reasons that my mother preferred the basic of everything was that it made life easier for her. She did not attend school beyond junior high level and often struggled with reading and learning complicated tasks. She finally learned to tell time when I was young. But her tenacity on keepi...