Grandma Katie

Eric and Grandma Katie

My phone rang this morning at 8 A.M. The ring tone was the “circus” music that I have reserved for my parents. My grandmother died this morning. She was 82. According to my mom, Grandma Katie died peacefully.

A memorial service has been planned for April 21st. My mom asked me if I wanted to say anything at the service. I’ve been thinking about what I would say at my grandma’s funeral for a week or so. Her health had been failing due to complications after a stroke and we all knew that she would not live for much longer.

I feel a certain amount of responsibility to say something insightful at the service. My brother, Shaun, posted on his blog that he will miss the cookies and milk that used to always be available at grandma’s house. Homemade chocolate chip cookies were always in a Tupperware container on top of the refrigerator. Standard operating procedure at grandma’s house was to enter the house, say hello, hug, and then get cookies, pour milk into the little plastic blue cups that were perfect for dunking, and then eat scrumptious cookies while sitting at the kitchen table.

Grandma Katie introduced me to my first soap opera. General Hospital was a mainstay in the afternoon. She would ride her bike to the mailbox and place the mail in the basket at the front of her bike.

Grandma had multiple sclerosis. She took a lot of meds and dealt with it for several years. She had a knee replaced and I used to call her the Bionic Grandma. She was so tough.

Grandma would write in her journal almost everyday. She would have been an amazing blogger! I remember when she learned how to email. She was 70ish when she became a netizen.

Many members of our family have quilts on their beds which were made by grandma. The basement was like a quilt factory. She sold several of her handmade quilts for hundreds and even thousands of dollars. I would joke with her about how the IRS was going to audit her quilt income.

We would play Rummikub. Grandma Katie like to played Rummy, UNO, and Pinochle.

She helped me with my math homework. She used to square dance. She played basketball. She had 3 children, 8 grandchildren, and 3 great grandchildren. She was married to my Grandpa Clyde for 60+ years.

I am very happy that I was able to spend so much time with her. My head is full of thousands of memories. My heart is heavy with both happiness and sadness.

Thanks Grandma…