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My Grandma
September 25th, 2009
My grandma passed away Tuesday night. She had not been doing well these past few weeks. She was 89. She had raised five children, and had 19 grandchildren, 33 great grandchildren and one great-great granddaughter. Needless to say, she was all about family. She was married 67 years to my grandpa, who passed away two years ago. And she was a real character, just like he was.
Anyway, I debated speaking about her on my blog – but then decided that a good portion of the readers are my family and they will enjoy this. And family – please share any memories you have in the comments area.
So, here are a few things that I think of when I think about my grandma:
Memories of Grandma
- Once she sat me down and showed me pictures of my aunt’s wedding day. She told me that she was so excited about the dress she ordered (from Sears catalog maybe?) but then it got delivered and she said she wished that dress would have never come.
- Our house burnt down when I was 10 – it was rebuilt, but we were suddenly homeless. She took us in and I remember her staying up late with me and making me hot chocolate. My parents though also remember that four days later she put our suitcases out in the yard – guess having an extra 6 people around was a little too much for her!
- We drove by a new neighbor’s house one day and she smiled really big and waved and the man just stared at us. After we passed by she muttered “Stuck-up asshole.”
- When I was very young I remember jiggling the extra hanging skin on her arm and saying “What is that Grandma?” Oops!
- She played cards often and I can remember playing with her at her little kitchen table on many occasions.
- She loved taking care of stray cats. It seems like she always was feeding a group of them from her backdoor.
- I loved looking through her jewelry box. Big fancy necklaces and earrings. I’m glad she let us, even though we were probably really young.
- I remember several of us jumping on her bed upstairs singing the “No more monkeys jumping on the bed song!”
- She always was really excited and friendly and had a high-pitched squeel when she would see us. And she always thought us girls were so skinny! We always got a kick out of it.
We love you grandma and we’ll miss you!
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This week I was playing the boardgame “Sorry” with someone and the rules of the game were challenged. I was slightly offended when that person thought he knew the rules better than I. “If you only knew how long I have been playing this game you wouldn’t second guess how well I know the rules.” And I was right, of course, because grandma had taught me and taught me well. I always loved playing board games & especially cards with her. And I especially loved that she never “let” us win, she played to win too and taught us how to be gracious winners and losers. And when we played cards, look out! As we got older and learned Euchre this was my favorite to play with her. “If you have the right bower you may as well go alone” she would say. I also loved watching her and grandpa play 2 person Euchre. They would get so mad at each other and one would end up cussing and leaving. It was all in good fun though. She always had plenty of ice cold Pepsi and candy waiting for us when we came to visit. Living next door, this was quite often. She was always SO excited to see us, like it was the best day ever. Just like a grandma should be! We love you grandma and will miss you!
Erin, I’m so sorry for your loss. Your grandma sounds like she was a wonderful woman! My prayers are with you and your family.
I am sorry for your loss. Thank you for sharing your memories. What a blessing a strong and wonderful family is!!
We lived next door to Mary for at least 25 years and she was so much fun, we loved sitting in her lawn chairs sipping iced tea and waving at all the honking cars that went by…no one honked at me in my yard but everyone knew and loved Mary! She would wave like Princess Di and mutter “I don’t know ya, but hello”
Steve would go down on Saturday mornings to play 2 handed euchre with her and when she won, she would kiss her hand and pat her cheecks saying “oh Mary, Mary, you’re so good!” It cracked me up everytime she did it.
Mary decorated for every season plus the ones in between I think, she rotated cool decorations her family had given her over the years and there was always something different to look at in her house that you had never seen before. It was a privilage to be a part of her inner circle, we’ll miss her.
I’m so sorry for your loss. This is a touching blog entry.