Granmomo went to be with Jesus on December 19, and really, for her it is a blessing. She had suffered from Alzheimer's for years, and had recently broken her hip which seemed to accelerate the symptoms. She was laid to rest in her hometown of Wharton, next to my grandpa, and I hope they'll be reunited in Heaven!
Granmomo was my last living grandparent, and my mom's last parent, and losing her has some sad finality to it. I wasn't extremely close to either of my grandmothers, but I was closest to her. And I have some fond memories of spending time with her before the Alzheimer's affected her memory...
I remember staying at her house in Austin, and looking at the twinkling lights of cars and homes in the Hill Country and calling them Easter egg lights.
I remember having a snack with her every afternoon when I stayed there, and she called it 'Tea Party.' We had milk and Wheat Thins with peanut butter. My grandpa went to Dunkin Donuts every day during this time and had his coffee. She used to make cookies for us when we came to visit, and my favorites were M&M or her special iced oatmeal cookies.
She had 2 guest rooms upstairs in her house - the blue room and the pink room. I always stayed in the blue room. She had these bath toys we always played with - my sister has them now. We have the fondest memories of those little toys. And Sawyer gets to play with them at his Mimi's house (until Amanda has kids and a bathroom of her own - ha)!
We also always played cards (Double Solitaire or Patience) or a board game called Pollyanna with her. Pollyanna is the best game ever.
She wore the most beautiful champagne beaded gown to my aunt's wedding, and she wore it to mine also. As a little girl, I thought that dress was the most gorgeous dress in the world.
She read the same books to me every time I stayed overnight - the one I specifically remember is The Five Little Peppers.
I remember meeting her and my mom in Wharton for a little ceremony at the cemetery. She alone pushed for it to receive a Texas historical marker. I drove her back to Austin and got pulled over for speeding in good ol' Fayette county. You better believe she tried negotiating with the state trooper on my behalf! (It unfortunately did not work.)
When I started dating Jeremy she told me he was a keeper.
After we moved to Austin, I met her and my mom in Elgin and drove Granmomo back to her place after she'd spent the week with my mom. I was a little apprehensive about making the drive with her and Sawyer (who was 4 or 5 months old at the time). But Sawyer slept the whole time, and Granmomo and I were able to have some nice time to talk in the car. We might have visited the same topics a few times, but it was still nice.
The second to last time I saw her was at Sawyer's 1st birthday party. I love that I have that memory, and pictures of them together.
She loved her Longhorns. She graduated with her BFA in Music Education, and she said the only reason she finished her degree is because she happened to not have been married by then! She was glad she had it, which was passed on to my mom and onto me. She always enjoyed watching the Longhorns play on Saturdays and always had on her burnt orange.
On Jeremy's behalf, I know he remembers spending the last two Christmases with her at my mom's house. When we would get frustrated with answering the same questions repeatedly, he would always answer her so sweetly and try to engage her in conversation - about going to UT in the '40's, about living in Wharton and then in Connecticut. One thing they shared in common was music and playing the piano and Jeremy would always play for her so she could sing. It really was the nicest thing to watch, because you could tell how happy it made her.
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I wrote this before her service, which was held in Wharton on December 29. We were unable to make it to her memorial service at her church in Austin, but I loved being able to attend the Wharton service. A nice group of her friends still living in Wharton and some of my mom's friends she grew up with there attended. It was so sweet that they came out, and I enjoyed meeting them and hearing more stories about my grandparents. One of my favorite anecdotes I heard was from a woman who went to church with my grandparents. She said one of her favorite memories is teaching bible school for 2 weeks in the summer with my grandma. She said there were so many children and they were just so excited to teach them, and she also enjoyed teaching Sunday School to high school students with my grandpa. My grandparents moved from Wharton to Connecticut (and eventually back to Austin where they joined a Presbyterian church), but her friend said she believed Sue always remained a Southern Baptist at heart. To which her Presbyterian pastor from Austin replied, was there every any doubt?
We're very sad to have lost Granmomo, and as always seems the case, I wish I had spent more time with her in her last few years here. But I am very, very glad she is free of this disease, and we can all take comfort in that.
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| The family celebrating Granmomo's 80th birthday in Austin in 2008. Top: cousin Brigeda, Aunt Cindy, Uncle Richard, Uncle Chris, me, Jeremy Middle: Aunt Cara, my mom, brother Tyler Bottom: cousin Baxter, Granmomo, cousin Anna, sister Amanda |
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| My mom, Granmomo, myself and Sawyer at his 1st birthday party - sweet memories. |
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