A Fond Farewell to a Lovely Lady

This lovely lady, Mary Ann, peacefully went home to be with Jesus yesterday, after 92 years. She is my husband's grandmother, an absolute delight to know and took me in as one of her many grandkids over the nearly 25 years we have been married. We have many great memories with her over the years and she will be sorely missed, until we meet again.

She is one of the few people I know who have lived to see some of her great grandchildren grown or almost so. We have made several trips up north to her home over the years to stay with her for a week during the summer or for a quick Thanksgiving visit. The first visit was during our first year as newlyweds. My husband had a sleek, black Pontiac Firebird and we drove the entire way from Texas in one day. We got there in the middle of a hot summer night and awoke after a quick hard sleep to the most glorious cool breeze wafting through the windows of their century-old home in the older part of town. 

We enjoyed walking to the Catholic parish nearby where my husband had been baptized as a baby and then came back to a delicious family brunch after mass, made by a very spunky lady! She had a cozy screened in front porch where we could enjoy the weather and catch up on all the family and local news. Their family was known all over town, as his grandfather was a very well-respected building inspector (not to mention they all had a strong family resemblance among the seven kids).

She loved, loved, loved time with the great grandkids. We took our kids up for Thanksgivings after we moved near enough to do so. Nothing made her happier than having them crawl up onto her lap and nestle in for a good, long snuggle and visit.

She came to visit us down south when my second child was born. The doctor wasn't sure when exactly I would give birth, and it could've gone past when she left to go back home. As God would have it, our daughter was born while she was in the air flying to see us and his mom greeted her at the airport with the question, "want to go meet the new baby?" So, no sooner did she get off the plane than she was already in our hospital room snuggling a newborn little one. It made the whole day complete!

We also have many funny memories with her. On another trip down to visit us, my husband and I drove her somewhere around town. She always refused to wear a seat belt. Her knees were giving her trouble, so she would turn sideways in the back seat and put her leg up on the seat. He owned a car with leather seats at the time and accidentally took a corner a little too fast. It was like something out of a movie as we saw her in the mirror slide smoothly across the back seat (her head went from one side of the mirror to the other). For years, we referred to that day as the day he took her "for a slide." He was absolutely horrified in the moment, and she thought it was hilarious!! She loved it and the memory stuck!

She had many small furry visitors of all kids to her backyard. It was always well attended, with bird feeders hanging from the back patio cover. She had a beautiful fir tree in the backyard that looked like a year-round Christmas tree right in the center. As a southerner who wasn't familiar with those types of trees, I was always in awe of it. She had wild rabbits, squirrels and all kinds of birds visiting daily, her favorite being the Cardinal.

Visits to see her were restful and full of simple fun, exploring the area or having a good chat. Her favorite weekly adventure for a long time was to go to Wal-Mart and Wendy's on Wednesdays. As a retiree, she enjoyed the simple pleasures of life.

Over the years, her health has been slowly declining, as the normal course of aging has set in. Her life has become much more limited to her home, but she has never forgotten to send birthday cards or to remember important days like anniversaries. This continued all the way up until this past week. She became very ill about two weeks ago, but a week ago, even in the middle of all of that, she still found a way to send my youngest a birthday card with a $5 bill enclosed. There just were not words when I saw that card on the kitchen table. She loved to the end.

We love you Grandma. Thank you for being you. You will be missed!