A Great Example (family e-mail from Joy, grand-daughter)

3/28/2006

Well, I guess it's my turn. It's taken me this long to even dare to read 
some of the letters that were sent about grandma. I just finished reading 
my dad's and Stephi's. Sorry, I haven't read the rest yet, I'm working on 
it. I have to do it when I feel strong enough.

I am thankful for the time that I was able to spend with Grandma. It was 
nice living with her for the couple of years that I did. When I moved she 
told me I was dumb because I had it so nice at my parent's house. She was 
right, but it was about time that I moved. My favorite times with grandma 
were all the times that I was able to go to the temple with her. We had a 
routine, we would go to the temple, then we would either eat at the temple 
cafeteria, or we would go to Village Inn. She loved Village Inn. She liked 
it because some of the things that she chose were smaller portions. She 
liked places according to how small their portions were.  There was one 
story, I wasn't there, but I think it's funny. The family was at McGrath's 
fishouse for dinner, and for some reason Grandma ordered the Captain's 
platter. Everyone told her that it was big, but she got it anyway. When it 
came out, and she saw how massive it was, she didn't eat any of it because 
it was too big. 

Grandma and I would go to different temples, but I think that her favorite 
was the Bountiful Temple. Sometimes it was harder to go there because 
there's a lot of walking from the parking lot, but she liked going there.

Grandma was one of my greatest motivators on my mission. Not necessarily 
because of her letters, but because of who she was. I would think about 
what she did on her mission, and especially the experience with Meg Harris. 
She was so bold. There were a few times on my mission that I would think 
about that, and I would go in and just challenge people. I always thought, 
if Grandma could do it, then I can try it. Those were some of my most 
treasured moments on my mission when I was as bold as I could be. 

In February, I was interviewing Grandma, and one of the things that I asked 
her was what she thought was the biggest change in the world during her life 
time. She told me that one of the things that she thinks has made and will 
make the biggest difference in world is inter-racial marriages. She thinks 
that inter-racial marriages will help people to be more accepting of each 
other. I was surprised by her answer, but it makes sense. 

I'm going to miss Grandma. I too thought I would be ready for this, but 
it's a lot harder than I thought it would be. When I found out, I was out 
to lunch with one of my residents. He has autism and is not an affectionate 
person. He's also non-verbal. While we were sitting at Wendy's he kept 
laying his head on my shoulder, and would just rest it there. This was a 
little weird because he's never done that before. He seemed sad, and I kept 
asking him why he was sad. (Knowing he can't answer me). About 5 minutes 
later I checked my phone and called home and found out Grandma passed away. 
It really makes me wonder if he had a sense that something happened. I 
don't know if he did or not, but I wouldn't be surprised.

Grandma has definitely left a legacy for all of us to follow. 

Joy