| Emails or guestbook entries
that have not been responded to concerning my Mom's passing,
I wanted to let you know I do appreciate your well wishes
and letters so much. Without the help of my Pop, Carson,
caring for my Mom and the Bailey family helping out and
looking after her, I would be more of a mess than I am..
Their thoughtfulness and compassion means so much.
I know they love and miss her very much also. These
last few months have been a little overwhelming. I'm kind of out of it
and not very organized sometimes, but I wanted to thank you
all very much now.
In honor of my Mom and recently my dear
Grandmother, I wanted to dedicate this page and post a little bit about two of the
most influential and important women in my life. I
miss them more than anyone will ever know and as difficult
as it was to be beside each of them at their time of
passing, I feel so fortunate to have been able to. I do find
some peace knowing they were both ready to go to Heaven and
now they're together again and with the loved ones who have
passed before. They were angels here on earth, but now they
have their wings!!
My sweet Mother and I had a very
special bond and I'm so proud to say she was also my best
friend. When my Mom and Dad split up, my Mom worked so hard
to provide for us kids and never complained of the work she
did. She worked at a hospital caring for the mentally
challenged, she was a waitress, seamstress, worked in
retail, she was a bartender/manager and she was even
employed at a shipyard in Mississippi as a welder. She
gave us unconditional love, no matter how tough of a time
she was having. She was a very loving and devoted
Mother and she always thought of us kids before herself. She
worked as hard as a man, but when Momma wasn't working, she
was very much a feminine and classy lady! She and
Carson (my Pop) moved to
Tennessee (my home is next door to theirs) in 2001, then she
was diagnosed with emphysema and lung cancer. From
that time on, she still continued to be so strong and have
such a positive attitude to make the best of everything.
As hard as it was to see her uncomfortable at times, I
wouldn't trade that time for anything. There were times at
her doctor appointments when she received bad news, she
comforted me! My memories with her make me smile,
laugh and cry. She was everything to me! My Mother had
a strong will to live and put up a fight to the very end..
She passed away with dignity, very quietly in her home.
Just like she wanted.. She is laid to rest in
Minnesota were she was born.
My dear Grandma was quite a woman also. Through the
many struggles in her life, she continued to push forward
and do what she had to to make it through. She was born in
Minnesota also...on April 29, 1912. Her birthday
is a week before mine and I was named after her. (I got her
middle name and am privileged to have it) Both of her
parents passed away when she was very young and after many
years of separation from her sisters (because of being
orphaned) she was reunited again with them. My Grandma also
did various jobs considered uncommon for a woman to do, but
my Grandma held her own and worked just as hard as any man
on the job! She did electrical and electronics
work for 25 years. She did electrical assembly work
for the Northrup Corporation in California. She also took an
electronics course and then worked for North American
Aviation. She worked as a repair technician in the
Rockwell test laboratory. In Mississippi, she worked
in an electronic test lab also. She retired in 1977.
When my Grandpa passed away in 1989, she moved from
Mississippi back to Minnesota. She was a member of the
Rushford Lutheran Church and many women's organizations in
the community. She enjoyed gardening, quilting and
serving the community. My Grandma didn't act like a typical
90ish year old..she was always on the go. She was out
shoveling the snow off of the walkway, at the apartment
complex she moved to at around age 91, so no one would slip
and fall!! :O) I think my Grandma is somewhat of a
celebrity...everyone in the surrounding counties where my
Grandma lived, either knows and loves her or has heard so
many good things about this remarkable little bitty lady
with a strong spirit and good heart. Everyone always
commented how nice she was dressed also. (that's where my
Momma learned it from) Always dress and act like a lady!
I think one of the best ways to describe my Grandma is a
cross between Jessica Tandy (Driving Miss Daisy, Fried Green
Tomatoes) and Minnie Pearl. She was a thoughtful,
caring person and had such a great sense of humor. She
always had a story and a joke to tell. In her
lifetime, she saw a lot of change in the world. One of
her sayings I liked was, "It's nice to be important, but
it's more important to be nice!" My Grandma was both..
After my Mom's funeral in July, I told my Grandma I would be
back in a couple months and spend some time with her.
I came back in a couple months, but unfortunately she was in
the hospital trying to fight the pneumonia she had from, I
think, recovering and taking it easy from her hip surgery
and a fall she had around late May. She too had a
fighting spirit, but told me she was just tired and ready to
go to be with the Lord. The day before I was scheduled
to go back home to Tennessee, she passed away. My
second cousin Joann and I were at her bedside each holding
her hands when she passed away in the hospital. Before she
did go I was able to tell her that she has a very special
place in my heart and that she means the world to me. She
had a mask on to help her breathe, which made it impossible
for her to speak, but she squeezed my hand and smiled with
her eyes then wrote on a piece of paper, "I love you".
That was one of the last things she said to me. |
