Grandma June: March 21, 1923- April 25, 2011

Grandma June, Sr picture

1 week ago today, just a few hours after Easter and the 1st birthday of my baby who was named after her, my beautiful Grandma June passed away. I know I can never explain to someone who didn't know her just how amazing she was (is) but I'd still like to give it a try. The first thing I think of when I think of her is her laugh. It was absolutely infectious. She was constantly laughing and giggling. There were certainly times when she was serious, and even times of tears. Still, many times those tears were brought on by how hard she was laughing. You just couldn't be around and not join in the laughter. Even up to the very end, she loved to laugh.

Grandma June and Grandpa Pug at mine and Dave's wedding

She loved to play with us as kids. One of my favorite memories of her is coming home from school when I was 8 years old to be surprised to find her at my house (they lived in Kansas City at the time). My mom had gone into labor and so she was there to help and take care of us. She spent the entire afternoon playing with Jill and I upstairs. We were playing hospital. Jill was the doctor, I was the nurse, and part time patient. Grandma was the patient, and she played her part well. She rolled around moaning on the bed making up all sorts of ailments. The thing I remember the most was that she said she broke her thumb and she needed a cast. She had Jill and I wrap her thumb with an entire thing of masking tape before she said it was ok.

Grandpa and Grandma playing the role of Mary and Joseph in the family Nativity Scene play, Dec 1999

I remember Dave telling me how shocked he was the first time he met her. We had just started dating and we had gone snow tubing up in Midway where they lived. Since we were there, I insisted we go and see my grandparents. Unfortunately, he hadn't been able to spend as much time with his grandparents growing up as I had with mine and so he wasn't really sure what to expect. I certainly wasn't what he got. He wasn't sure what to do when we walked in the front door and within seconds, Grandma and I gave each other a hug, which immediately turned into a bra-snapping/ bum kicking, then rolling on the floor in the foyer, wrestling match. You see, when ever she stood next to you, she would always have her arm around you, and it was a prime opportunity to kick your leg up sideways to smack that person you had your arm around in the toosh. For a lady in her 70's, she was surprisingly agile and could kick pretty high!

When Grandma made a friend, it was a friend for life. She didn't do "casual acquaintance". She would always talk about friends she had met as she had moved around from state to state with Grandpa's work, and then during their mission to Bermuda. People who knew her, loved her and never forgot her. In fact, when my brother and sister-in-law got married in Scotland, we were there. We traveled to the Preston England Temple for their sealing. While we were there, we stayed in the temple housing that is there for temple patrons. We got to talking to someone who was there for a temple trip. It turns out, he was from Bermuda. We mentioned our grandparents who had been there on their mission almost 20 years before. Of course he knew them and was so excited to have met us and found this connection to them. He was so sweet to us since we were related to such amazing people and ran back to his room to bring us back cookies and other snacks he had brought for himself. When we told my grandparents, they, of course, still knew him, as they never forgot any of the friends they had made.

Grandma and Grandpa with B and L on their blessing day

Grandma had such a strong testimony and amazing faith. It was as undeniable as her love of giggling. She suffered from Alzheimer's during the last few years of her life. However, despite the many things she couldn't remember, she never lost sight of this. It was last September that I sat next to her in the General Relief Society Broadcast. It had been a couple of years since she had known my name, and several others, yet as we sat there, she could sing every word of the hymns and she listened so intently to the speakers and we were able to talk about how great the meeting was after as she bore such a sweet testimony of the things that she heard during the meeting. I was so thankful then to see that her testimony was so strong and ingrained in her that despite all she lost, that would never leave her.

I took the kids over to see her the night she was moved to the care center. I knew this could be their last time to see her on this earth (which it was) and we were lucky enough to get a picture. She had been in so much pain at this point and couldn't move at all, despite this, she was still able to smile for a picture, and tell us that she loved us.

I was blessed to have been able to spend time with her on 4 different days during her last week on the earth. Each one was powerful and significant to me. 3 of those times she was still able to speak and she told me she loved me on each of those times. As I said, due to the Alzheimer's Disease, it had been some time since had recognized me, but during some of these visits, I truly felt that wasn't the case. She knew me, and was able to leave me with memories that I will cherish forever. I am so thankful to this wonderful person who has had such an impact on my life, and the life of so many others. I pray that I can live up to her example a little bit more.

This is a poem that a cousin of mine wrote and it really does say it all.

Her sparkling eyes,
Her witty way,
Her tender, open heart.
Her story telling,
Her love of dance,
her belief in you from the start.
Her gentle hand
Which would reach for yours
With a never ending smile.
Her positive outlook, her endless happiness
Would invite you to stay for awhile.
Her love of family
Her sweetheart, her children
Each granddaughter and grandson
Through each generation
She made us feel
As if each was the only one.
Her faithful soul, her great example
Her generosity that never ceased
Carried her through the times
When she felt lost
And could not be released.
She taught us all
How we should live
And we are blessed to say
That we were loved
By our Grandma June
In the most perfect way.
Now we know she is safe
She has returned home
She is not in pain anymore
She no longer feels lost,
No longer afraid
Her peace is made sure.