top of page
Writer's pictureJaela Deming

October 26, 2023: Happy Birthday Grammy...a Memorial Post

Hey Folks,


Today would be our dear Grammy's 93rd birthday. I want to do a post in her memory and honor. I wouldn't be who I am today without her. She and Grampy supported each of us children in so many ways: paying for us to take music lessons and learn hobbies, teaching us to golf and giving us clubs, pouring out their love onto us as much as they could, especially during the summer weeks we were privileged to spend with them in Iowa each year. As our family grew, and the number of grandkids expanded from two to four to six, their love and support grew as well.


Grammy and Grampy, many years ago

We have so many fond memories of Grammy and her spunky humor. She was a storyteller, and we still laugh about the Tiny Tim stories she began making up for us when we were very young. Even as teens we would ask her what Tiny Tim was up to, until, last we heard, he was walking the Great Wall of China and she’d lost touch with him. Ironically, Grammy passed away on April 1, 2022…that well-loved day of the year when humor takes over the home, the workplace, and relationships. I was in a writing class the semester she passed, and the day of her death, I was composing a personal narrative about the role she had played in my life. I want to share this essay with you, in her memory. It will be attached at the end of this post.


Here's a photo recap of some of our favorite memories with Grammy since 2016:


Hanging out on the camper deck, August 2016

Moving G&G to assisted living so Grampy could receive care, October 2016

Teaching Grammy to sew pillowcases in her new home

Grammy cooking when we brought her home with us after Grampy's funeral, December 2016

Grammy is proud of her boys! May 2019

Surprise birthday party to celebrate her 90 years of life, October 2019

Grammy helped buy us a puppy!! January 2020

Maleah and I provided background music for her assisted living's Valentine party, February 2020

Taking Grammy to the camper she blessed our family with, one last time, September 2020

We showed her the bench we'd had placed in her and Grampy's honor at the golf course they loved, September 2020. We can see it from right outside the camper kitchen window.

The back of the bench

One final family picture at Twin Anchors Campground and Golf Course, September 2020

Both Grammy and Grampy loved jumbo word puzzles, February 2021

The last picture I took of her while visiting her in memory care. February 2022

Side note with regards to the personal narrative: When I wrote in the essay eabout waiting for that fateful text message, I was literally sitting on the couch writing as I waited. I wrote up until the moment the text came through. The next portion of the paper was written just hours after receiving the text. I haven’t rewritten it and only made minimal edits, so the raw emotions of that day are exactly that…raw.



No one can take the place of our dear Grammy. Even now I’m fighting back tears as I write. The quote that I based my personal narrative off of remains as true today as it did the day Grammy entered eternity. The grief of losing her comes and goes. Sometimes thinking about her brings joy. Other days...such as when I graduated, brings the grief of her loss. Through it all, I thank God for the time we had with her and the legacy of love that she (and Grampy) left.


Carrying my dear G&G with me across the graduation stage, May 2023

Happy birthday, Grammy! We miss you so much and look forward to the day when we get to see you again... in perfect health and walking beside our Lord.


Until next time, God bless!


P.S. A beautiful little back story about Grammy and Grampy... My mom's Mom (Olga) died of cancer when my Mom was 17 years old. Her dad (Ray) died the year after my parents were married, so by the time children started coming along, there were no living grandparents to us on my Mom's side. Wilma (Olga's younger sister) and her husband, Bill, had never had children of their own. So while they were Aunt Wilma and Uncle Bill to my mom, they became Grammy and Grampy to me and my siblings. In other words, they got to skip the parenting step in life and go right straight to grandparenting! They played their parts perfectly, doting on us and spoiling us up good. When my Mom was 45, they did an adult adoption of her to formalize the relationship we all had with each other. They became my Mom's legal parents. It's a lovely story, and especially when you think about the fact that in my family of 6 kids, only 2 of us are biologically related to our parents. The other four siblings are adopted. So, myself, my biological older brother, and my 4 adopted siblings were all made the legal grandchildren of Wilma and Bill through their adult adoption of our mom. If you were able to follow all of this, I trust you can see it's a pretty sweet story of God's love and providential provision for everyone involved.

90 views2 comments

Recent Posts

See All

2 Comments


Peggy Smith
Peggy Smith
Oct 28, 2023

Beautiful


Like
Jaela Deming
Jaela Deming
Oct 30, 2023
Replying to

Thanks, Aunt Peggy❤️

Like
bottom of page