Last Thursday (May 14) my Grandma passed away - she was almost 97 years old.I've been anticipating this day for a long time and although part of me is sad, the majority is happy for her. My Grandma and Grandpa lived on a farm in Idaho for many years. After my Grandpa passed away (40+ years ago) my Grandma continued to live on the farm alone. She never remarried. I would bet she didn't even consider dating. Eventually it got to where she could no longer live alone, and she moved in with my Aunt Sharen. She lived with my Aunt for several years until it became evident that she really needed to be in a nursing home where she could be cared for full-time. The last time I saw my Grandma I had a feeling it would be my last. We were in Idaho for my sister's wedding last year and stopped by to visit her. Even though I recall that visit vividly, the memories that come to mind when I think of my Grandma are much older. The way she was when I was a child.
Going to Grandma's house meant hot weather, slip n' slide, croquet, playing with her ink stamps, large family gatherings, watermelon, sliding down the stairs (we tried to do this in stealthy fashion as it was not allowed) and lots of home cooked meals with fresh fruit and orange juice (orange juice was a novelty when we were little). It also meant avoiding the canal and not going in the basement because surely we would get our hand caught in the wringer. In all of my visits to Grandma's house I never saw the wringer. In fact, I didn't even know what a wringer was, but I was afraid of it just the same. At the end of our visits, Grandma would always wait by the kitchen window and wave goodbye until we were out of sight. She loved her kids and grandchildren.
Although our trip to Idaho this weekend was a more somber event - it was great to see the family. As in the WHOLE FAMILY. My Aunt, Dad and Uncle arranged a nice service and graveside dedication for Grandma. The flowers on her casket were beautiful. Grandma would have loved them. More than that though, I think she would have loved that the family was together again, enjoying each other's company and eating good food.
Here are a few pics from the weekend.
On Saturday a few of us ate lunch at Craigo's. It's my favorite all you can eat pizza place in Rexburg/Idaho Falls. The dessert pizza is AWESOME!!
Some pictures from the graveside dedication.
Grandma's house. "The farm" consisted of the house plus 40 acres on each side of the house (80 total).
Lunch after the service.. and of course, a good chunk of the Miller family.
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3 comments:
Oh thanks for posting this! What a nice remembrance of your grandma. And really great to see how many people were able to make it! (We're sad that we weren't there, too ... )
I finally got over to read your post. :-) Glad you could put up some of the pictures. I don't know when I'll get to posting a family update, with Karen and Niklas coming this weekend.
The silver lining of a funeral is always the gathering of loved ones we've not seen for a long while. The other part I like is learning things I never knew about the person. Seems to always happen when you hear of their beginnings and early life experiences. I thought Uncle Ed did a good job with the life sketch.
We brought home a CD (audio) the funeral home made of the service and when I get organized, I'll make a copy for those of you who'd like one. :-)
Love, Mom
You never saw the wringer? I vividly recall being in Grandma's basement and getting my hand caught in the wringer. It was very fascinating, up until of course my hand did get caught in it. A lot of my arm went through the wringers before Grandma (and Dad?) were able to free me from it. I know it hurt, but honestly, I remember how fascinating watching the wringer was to the pain of getting my arm caught in it.
I am sad I wasn't able to get time off from work to go to Idaho, but I am really glad that Grandma's finally passed on. I have to wonder if she finally decided she was ready to go, since in all the years previous when she took a bad turn she'd continue to hang on.
I have to say, after Grandma did move off her property, Idaho was never as fun for me. I miss having that awesome shaded yard with the cool shed and even the canal. I fondly remember us hitting a ball into it and Michael zooming off on his motorcycle to retrieve it from downstream.
That, and sliding down the stairs in a stealthy fashion was always awesome. :D
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