As a lot of my friends and family know, my Grandma Ginny passed away on February 10th of this year. It was devastating to me and I am still grieving the loss of my wonderful grandma and I miss her a lot. She was a wonderful grandma with a lot of love in her heart for her family and friends and a love for life as well. From the first memory of her to the last, she was always enjoying life. She loved to travel, help people, and serve her Lord and Savior. She loved her children and grandchildren very much.
My family and I did not get to see her as much as we would like because for many years she lived in Pennsylvania, but I always loved when she came to visit us or we got to go to her house. She had toys we did not have and could not find. She lived in a nice quiet neighborhood and had a cat named Morris and had neighbors that had peacocks.
A few years ago, she found out that she had cancer. She may have had cancer, but it did not have her. She fought it with all that she had. She traveled to New York and Germany for treatment. She had a healthy diet, exercised, and took vitamins. She was a member of the Red Hat Club and a church. She traveled a lot with friends and family. She took great care of her home. The one time I got to see it, it was beautiful and well cared for.
The last time I saw her was in October of 2004 when my family and I and my sister and her family met up with the rest of our family in Florida for my grandpa’s (my dad’s father) 80th birthday. She took my family and I to a picnic at a public beach, came to my grandpa’s 80th birthday party, and had my family over for lunch so we could spend time with her and my sister and her family (I had not seen my sister since 1998 except for a few minutes). She was a great cook and made the best banana pudding I have ever had.
As I mentioned, that was the last time I saw her in person. We did talk on the phone when I could find her at home and we sent letters and cards to each other. I truly wish I could have seen her again in person, but it just did not get to happen.
I got the news that she died the afternoon in the afternoon of February 10th. She died early that morning. My sister called me and told me. I will never forget that phone call. My husband and I had gone to Target to get him a keyboard for his computer. As soon as we walked in, we saw my mother-in-law was on the telephone and told me to sit down right away. I sat and she handed me the telephone. My sister was on the other end and she was in tears. I asked her what what was wrong and she told me the only two words she could get out “Grandma Ginny” and I said “When?” She told me what time she died and that she was in the hospice center. After sharing some tears, I got many telephone calls and a few emails with my grandma (my dad’s mom) and my aunt K, it had been set up for my sister and I to fly up the next morning and stay with my grandparent’s (my dad’s parents). It would be a whirlwind trip, but one I am very glad that I made.
The morning I flew from Dallas to Florida there were two plane crashes. That may not be a big deal to some, but I already have a big fear of flying and did not want to hear about plane crashes. The flight from Dallas to Atlanta was uneventful as far as any chaos. I will never forget a lady I met on the plane that was sitting right next to me. She told me she was traveling to visit her daughter before she went to Iraq to serve our country. I told her to tell her daughter thank you for serving our country. I told her why I was traveling and showed her pictures of Grandma Ginny. She told me something I will never forget. She told me that “That is just a longer distance to go to get a hug.” I will get my hug from my Grandma when I get to Heaven and she will get her hug from her daughter after she gets back from Iraq. It is just a longer time and a longer wait for us to get a hug from our loved ones. I will never forget that lady and her wisdom and good nature. There was also a couple also the aisle from me who asked to see Grandma Ginny’s picture and asked me if she had accepted Jesus Christ as her savior and had I and I told them that yes we both did and they were so great to reassure me that she is in Heaven and that I will see her again. I will probably never see them again on this earth, but I will never ever forget them. The rest of the flight was nice and smooth and not dramatic, at least until I got to Atlanta.
Once I got to Atlanta, I quickly got on a train and went to my gate. I find out that my plane was having maintenance issues (this happening on a day when two planes had already crashed) so I was more than glad that they did not have myself and my fellow passengers board a plane that had maintenance issues. They finally got us another plane and we were on our way to Florida. Once I landed in Florida, I was on my way to baggage claim and before I got there, I found my sister and my grandma (my dad’s mom) and they told me my aunt and uncle, another one of my uncles, and one of my cousins and their wife was waiting for us at my grandmas house. We had a good dinner of KFC chicken, biscuits, sides, and key lime pie for dessert. I had not seen them since 1999 and my other uncle I had not seen for many years before that. I was so glad to see all of them again, especially my sister who is my best friend in the whole world. I was so glad that I got to see her last year for my grandparent’s 60th wedding anniversary in Indiana. We had a nice dinner and a nice visit.
Saturday morning my grandma went to mass while my sister and I were having breakfast. That afternoon, our uncle M and aunt R came for lunch. We had a good lunch and took pictures outside in my grandparent’s backyard. After lunch and after aunt R and Uncle M left, we played Euchre (a card game) and my sister and grandma beat my grandpa and I. Then we changed for the memorial service and we got there early. We met in a room at the church as a family so we could walk in together. It was a beautiful service and a great way to honor my grandma.
My cousin C spoke of when he went to visit her in New York. He said they went to Central Park and she knew all the bus routes, probably because she had traveled along of them. He said she was always on the go. My cousins C and M also read these poems about her:
I Do Not Go Alone
If death should beckon me with outstretched hand
And whisper softly of “An Unknown Land.”
I shall not be afraid to go,
For though the path I do not know,
I take Death’s Hand without a fear
For He who safely brought me here
Will also take me safely back
And though in many things I lack
He will not let me go alone
Into the “Valley That’s Unknown.”
So I reach out and take Death’s hand
And journey to the “Promised Land.”
–Helen Steiner Rice
This Day is Mine to Mar or Make
This day is mine to mar or make,
God keep me strong and true;
Let me no erring by path take,
No doubtful action do.
Grant me when the setting sun
This fleeting day shall end,
I may rejoice o’er something done,
Be richer by a friend.
Let all I meet along the way,
Speak well of me to-night.
I would not have the humblest say,
I hurt him by the slight.
Let there be something true and fine
When not slips down to tell
That I lived this day of mine
Not selfishly, but well.
Anonymous
Her pastor also told of how much they love her and how she always had a smile on her face. He told of how involved she was in her church and loved to help and serve people. Amazing Grace was sung as a group and How Great Thou Art was sung as a solo.
These verses were also read:
John 14: 1-10
Jesus Comforts His Disciples
1“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4You know the way to the place where I am going.”
Jesus the Way to the Father
5Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
6Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
8Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”
9Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.
Source: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=31&search=John%2014:1-10
Proverbs 31 was also used to describe her
1 The sayings of King Lemuel—an oracle [a] his mother taught him:
2 “O my son, O son of my womb,
O son of my vows, [b]
3 do not spend your strength on women,
your vigor on those who ruin kings.
4 “It is not for kings, O Lemuel—
not for kings to drink wine,
not for rulers to crave beer,
5 lest they drink and forget what the law decrees,
and deprive all the oppressed of their rights.
6 Give beer to those who are perishing,
wine to those who are in anguish;
7 let them drink and forget their poverty
and remember their misery no more.
8 “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,
for the rights of all who are destitute.
9 Speak up and judge fairly;
defend the rights of the poor and needy.”
Epilogue: The Wife of Noble Character
10 [c] A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.
11 Her husband has full confidence in her
and lacks nothing of value.
12 She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.
13 She selects wool and flax
and works with eager hands.
14 She is like the merchant ships,
bringing her food from afar.
15 She gets up while it is still dark;
she provides food for her family
and portions for her servant girls.
16 She considers a field and buys it;
out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17 She sets about her work vigorously;
her arms are strong for her tasks.
18 She sees that her trading is profitable,
and her lamp does not go out at night.
19 In her hand she holds the distaff
and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
20 She opens her arms to the poor
and extends her hands to the needy.
21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
22 She makes coverings for her bed;
she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is respected at the city gate,
where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them,
and supplies the merchants with sashes.
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity;
she can laugh at the days to come.
26 She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
27 She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
29 “Many women do noble things,
but you surpass them all.”
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
31 Give her the reward she has earned,
and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.
Source: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs%2031;&version=31;
That night, my aunt and uncle, my uncle and his girlfriend, C and his wife L, my cousin M, and my sister and I went to my grandmas favorite restaurant, an Italian restaurant named Primo’s to honor my grandma. We went back to my grandma’s house after that and took pictures and my aunt gave my sister and I pictures of my grandma and we both got to choose two of her purses and we split up the toys my grandma had. It was too quickly time to because my grandparents wanted us to go to their home so they could go to bed. I cried when I left my cousins and aunt and uncles behind. I did not want to leave them yet, but on a positive note, we are planning a family reunion for next year. I had to fly home in the morning, but my sister had an evening flight so she got to go out with my family for brunch.
Grandma Ginny, I love you and I will never forget you. You were a great example of love for your family and friends. You loved life and people, and they like myself, still love you. When the day is rough and long, I look at the picture of you on my dresser and remember that you smiled and remained tough even when life was very hard for you. You fought a good fight against cancer, and as I mentioned, you had cancer, cancer did not have you. I will never ever forget and I love and miss you so very much. On tough days, I will do my best to keep moving on with a smile on my face just like you did. I love you grandma and I know I will see you in Heaven again.
