Remembering My Grandma Who Just Passed Away

My Grandma and Spencer in Indiana.
She was such a beautiful woman.

This is the last time we were able to see my Grandma
when we went back to Indiana 3 years ago to visit.

This 4 generation shot was taken the Christmas
Devan (now almost 11) was a baby.

This is probably more for me than anyone else, but I wanted to share some of my favorite memories of my Grandma.

1. My favorite memories of my grandma center around food! She loved to cook and was excellent at doing it. Nothing beats her homemade chicken noodle soup or dumplings. As a young child, I loved to watch her at work in the kitchen. She passed that love onto me, and I will be forever grateful!

2. When my mom would go visit her parents and leave a few of us older ones at home with Dad, Grandma would always come to the rescue. She'd come cook for us and bring us lots of goodies and junk food that my mom would never allow in the house.

3. I remember playing in the basement at her house in Frankfort. She and grandpa had the coolest work room down there. My Grandpa worked for Peter Paul, a candy factory in Frankfort. They made all the Cadbury products- the eggs, the caramelos, Almond Joys, etc... Grandpa and grandma always had a bag of candy at their house for us to sample whenever we stopped by to visit.

4. Grandma was always the first to brag about her grandchildren. I gave her lots of mileage when I was valedictorian and while I was serving as a missionary (though she would never tell them for which church). :-)

5. Grandma loved to serve in the community and in whichever church she attended at the time. She was always trying to help others and visit those who needed it. She was a great example of service.

Grandma loved her family, and we loved her! We are so grateful that she was able to pass away peacefully. Her last words to my aunt were "I need to go." I'm sure she was happy to see all those who had gone before her.