Grandma

My grandma passed away yesterday. Although she was 85 years old she was always very healthy and we thought she would be around much longer. She was in a car accident and was hit by a car running a red light. Even though how she went was tragic I can't help but think it was meant to be. She lived a full life. She lost her husband at a young age and raised 6 kids. My grandpa has been gone for 41 years and 41 years is a long time to be alone. My grandma served a genealogy mission to England. She spent many years in the Genealogy Library in Salt Lake helping numerous people with their genealogy. Every time we visit Tom's family in California a woman in the ward thanks me for my grandmother helping her with her genealogy when she came for our wedding reception there. She has played the organ at the Salt Lake Temple for years and always enjoyed that. She even was walking to her car from the temple during the infamous Salt Lake tornado and survived that. Recently she started taking phone calls for the temple prayer roll. Just last Sunday she told us how she had received a few phone calls to put John McCain's name on the prayer roll. We saw my grandma every Sunday at my parents' house for dinner. She always brought "the mix" (chips, crackers, and M&Ms) and then a treat for the kids. Although you had to be sneaky about eating "the mix" or you might get in trouble for eating too much it was a part of Sunday dinner. Everyone always looked forward to "the mix" on fast Sunday especially. In the past several years my grandma hasn't been the same. Her mind hasn't been all there. She's always been very physically healthy but she wasn't the same grandma I grew up with. It makes me sad that my husband and kids never knew the grandma I knew and loved. As a kid there wasn't much better than sleepovers at grandma's. We loved staying Christmas night at grandma's house with our cousins. I have fond memories of sitting in her white living room staring at her ballerina statues and trying to pose exactly like them. As a child I looked forward to visiting my grandma's house on weekends. Holidays were always spent at grandma's house. Her birthday is just 2 days away from mine and we would always celebrate together. Sunday dinner won't quite be the same without grandma, her mix, her stories, & her phone call to tell us she had gotten home safely but I know she's in a better place. What a reunion she must have had with my grandpa and her parents. She always talked about that reunion and I'm sure it was just as sweet (or more so) than she always hoped. I'll never forget the way my grandma loved. Being together as a family was her favorite thing to do. I can even still hear her at reunions and such say how thrilled she was that we were all together. We will miss you grandma and look forward to being all together again.

Angie Haynie