My Blue Eyed Babies: Grandma Marge

Grandma Marge at her 90th birthday party

Growing up, I didn’t have the luxury of seeing my grandma every week, every month or even every year. She lived on the other side of the country and I never knew how much I was missing out on until I had the opportunity to watch my own children fall in love with their grandparents.

But, because I didn’t get to see Grandma Marge very often, the time I did spend with her was memorable.

She was a very loving, and fun-loving woman. My greatest memory of Grandma Marge was our trip to visit her in Phoenix when I was 18 years old. I was so excited to go to her house. You see, South Carolina to Arizona is a very long and expensive flight and I had never been to my grandmother’s house! She lovingly welcomed us and had even helped my mom plan an overnight trip to the Grand Canyon, which is a few hours north of her house. Grandma Marge kept talking about our trip on Tuesday and how much fun we were going to have. Tuesday rolled around and out the door we went in Grandma Marge’s car. We were travelling on Route 66, about half way there, when I was looking through the Grand Canyon information. I happened to look at the hotel reservation and noticed it was for WEDNESDAY night, not Tuesday! Mom, Kent and I ended up staying at a random hotel on Route 66 in Flagstaff for a night before continuing our journey to the Grand Canyon. I’m not sure she sent us early on purpose but I am sure she wasn’t used to having 2 teenagers in the house….. maybe she just needed a little quiet….. but that is one of my fondest memories!

Actually, that trip out to Arizona is chock full of memories. The very first time I went to a casino I sat at the slots between my mom and Grandma Marge. Kent and I had to lay out in the back yard on the lawn chair cushions because the back yard was all pebbles and the heat (110 degrees at 10:00 AM) went right through a towel. She taught me a version of Solitaire that I had never seen but still play to this day. And the trip ended on a funny note too with Grandpa Hank driving like a Formula 1 driver through the airport, Grandma Marge sitting beside him yelling for him to slow down, to get us to our gate on time.

But my real appreciation for Grandma Marge came when mom and Aunt Earlene moved her from Arizona to Tennessee. Suddenly this lady who sent me newspaper articles about proper grammar throughout my youth was just a day’s drive away! When I introduced her to Dave he quickly got a story out of her about driving up to the top of Pike’s Peak and how scary it was for her. That story earned her the name “Pike’s Peak Marge”, which made her laugh every time she heard it. I truly enjoyed being able to sit with her and listen to tales of her childhood or tales of her courtship with Grandpa.

So, even though I didn’t have the luxury of seeing my Grandma very often as a child, God more than made up for it by giving me time with her as an adult when I could cherish my time with her, get to know her and fully appreciate the beautiful, giving, funny and loving person that she is. I will always remember her as the beautiful lady who happily wore a silly tiara on her 90^th birthday.

I hope you are enjoying your long-awaited reunion with Grandpa and Uncle Randy, Grandma Marge. Rest peacefully, I love you.

My Grandma Marge passed away on November 21, 2011, just a few days before Thanksgiving. She was surrounded by family when she took her last breath. My mom was able to spend a couple of days by her side before she passed but I was not able to be there to comfort my mom or her sister. Dave and I travelled to Massachusetts on Thanksgiving Day and Grandma's memorial service was on Friday, the day after. My brother, Merv, wrote the eulogy and the above is what I sent him when I was asked to write a few of my favorite memories of my grandmother. On Friday, during her service, I sat in a gymnasium at Williams College in Williamstown, MA and tried to control my tears as the kids played with all of their cousins. I didn't do a very good job. It absolutely killed me that I couldn't be with my family during such a difficult time but, as another family member pointed out, I was able to spend time with her before she passed and she would probably rather I be right where I was, visiting a new place and enjoying time with family.

Grandma Marge was just 6 weeks shy of her 93rd birthday. She was blessed with two daughters (and a son in heaven), four grandchildren (and a granddaughter in heaven), and seven great-grandchildren (and two in heaven). She was a wonderful person who will be greatly missed.