My Grandmother

Today is the day of my grandmother's funeral in England. She died just a couple of days after my parents spent a month visiting her. She was 97 years old. (We could not make it back there for the funeral with the kids, etc., and we would have preferred to go when she was alive anyway, which we had been hoping to do in the spring). I wrote a statement that my dad will be reading out at the thanksgiving service they are having for her at our old church. She really was an amazing woman, and I cannot say enough about her. She was a deeply spiritual and godly woman, and always had words of (biblical) wisdom for me--not just in my childhood but also in my adult years. I grew up with her and my grandad living just down the road! They made a huge impact my on life growing up and we had Sunday dinners together each week after church. Here's a snippet from my statement that I wrote about her,

"My husband and I named our first daughter, Grace Anne, after her because she truly was the most wonderful woman we know. As Grace grows up, she will learn more about her great grandmother and why we all loved her so much."

Of course, I think one of the things we will most miss about her, was her enormous sense of humor & enthusiastic personality. I also wrote this:

"Any joke that was told in her presence was always answered with a bellowing laugh from my gran, and she would bring joy and merriment into any situation. I will always remember her playing the piano by ear for our family carol-singing sessions at Christmastime and how she was endlessly enthusiastic and supportive."

I love this photo of Grace with Great Granny taken when we visited her in England (Grace was 8 months old).