Rememberances

Both of these were from my Facebook posts, shared after Grandpa and Grandma passed away-- April 2020- On Thursday last week, we said good bye to my Grandpa. The girls and I were able to call around lunchtime. Grandpa had the ability to show love unconditionally, he was kind, loved his family, and made you feel welcome each time you visited. No matter who you were. He greeted you warmly and always had a current event to share...often snuck into the conversation with an “incidentally”. He had a love for family, books/knowledge, Grandma (whom he’d been married to for 65 years...he asked her to marry him shortly after they met), KState, history, the pasture(family land), tractors, and anything sweet. I can remember him&Grandma spending time playing with us grandkids growing up. He was handy and made several things for me and other grandkids. He grew up in the Lutheran church and in the Haven area, and loved to talk about both. He grew more liberal as he aged, which was neat to see and reminds me to consider different view points. He really enjoyed hearing Olivia play the piano and the girls gave him a concert(Olivia on piano, Kinley on guitar, and Emily improvising) for his birthday celebration at the beginning of March. I am grateful for his example on how to love, his love, and his passion. He’s home with Jesus now, but we will miss him here on earth. November 2023- Yesterday we celebrated the life of my Grandma. She was 89. This picture is from 2017, but it captures her smile and she’s mid sentence. Chuckling over something someone said at one of our big family gatherings. So many wonderful memories…she always had a craft for us to do(painting, leaf collages, sewing, bracelets, shrink a dinks….), she was patient, kind, and welcoming. She always asked you about something specific…your job, school, your hobby. Growing up she always had a half stick of gum for us during the church service. I have a very vivid memory of spending the night at her house and her hair being up in curler rolls. She had Donald Duck orange juice for us. She also always had a snack for us in the bottom “snack drawer”. That drawer was still found at her house until she moved to assisted living this summer. As kids, we got to go birthday shopping each year to pick out what we wanted. (Even as we got older.) The outing always included an out to eat meal of our choice. She was Sunday school director when I was in grade school. And she loved to sew. One year we had matching Christmas jammies. I had many homemade dresses, costumes, a quiet book, and doll clothes. We’d go to the store and pick out a pattern and material. Once I had kids of my own, I enjoyed bringing the girls for visits because Grandma (and Grandpa) took a lot of joy in just watching them play and enjoying their presence. They’d also play with them. When we left Grandma and Grandpa’s growing up we always got hugs…and that held true for every visit when we got older too. Grandma is the Imogene that Olivia is named for. Grandpa passed away in April 2020. They were married nearly 66 years and I loved to hear Grandpa recount how he met Grandma. We missed getting family together then, but all but one cousin was able to make it back yesterday. It was a beautiful fall day, which Grandma would have loved. Grandma and Grandpa, you are dearly treasured and loved. Rest well. ❤️