Grandma

My grandma died last month.  It was not

completely unexpected - she's been very sick and frail for years, but it was still

a shock for us all.  I guess she had been hoping to make it to age 87,

since that's the age that her mom and one of her sisters passed away, and she did.

She turned 87 just 2 days before she died.

This is an old picture, but it shows how happy my grandparents

were to have each other.  They have always loved spending time with family.

She was an incredible lady.  She had 6 children, one of which was my mom.

She's the first person to die on that side of the family, which is really

quite amazing, since there are 28 grandchildren & over 40 great-grandchildren.

I think that my cousin summed up her amazingly when she posted this

on facebook:  

"She is the spunkiest firecracker, who will whip you into shape and love you at the same time."

 Grandma made sure that you knew what was right and that she expected you

to act right.  But even when you were upset that she called you

out for something or let you know what's what, you always knew that she loved you.

She always called me by my given name, which even close friends have at

times been surprised that my Missy is not my given name.

I was able to fly to Salt Lake City for the funeral over Father's Day weekend.

I'm so glad that we could afford that, and especially that my husband was willing

and able to stay home with the kids all weekend.

He's kinda great.

Still in love, over 60 years later.

My aunt created a painting of this photo and it was next to the

casket at the viewing.

I learned some things about Grandma at the funeral that I hadn't known before; she had

graduated from beauty college & another program, like a typing program or something.

It was so fun to hear her brother give the eulogy - he was telling stories of

Grandma and also her mom.  It was neat to be able to hear how 

Grandma had so many of the same characteristics and attitudes that their mom did.

Her mom had 10 children, and later ended up taking care of several nieces and nephews 

after their mom died.  And since Grandma was one of the oldest, she helped a lot.

I'm so grateful for such a good example in my life.

And even more grateful that I know that we will see her again one day.

It makes losing someone in this life easier to bear.

The gospel is true.