Russia

Russia
We went to Yekaterinburg

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Mamie

I was hoping to get on here with photos of our trip to the Bethlehem Fair but those will have to wait. I am not sure who might remember reading an entry on here about my grandfather, Poppy. He is my mom's father. He passed away 3 years ago this THanksgiving. He left behind a big family which included his wife, Mamie. They had been married 64 years. Well, now they are together again.

Mamie is an amazing woman. At only 4'9" and about 90 pounds she was a little spitfire. She and Poppy raised 5 children and enjoyed 19 grandchildren and now 12 great-grandchildren. When I was younger I can remember Mamie having heart surgery but you would have never known it. She loved going in her garden, taking long walks, and baking brownies. Every day as a little girl my mother would ask what I wanted to do. I would simply tell her we had to go to Mamie's house. It is there that I learned how to bake. Brownies were our specialty. We spent hours just talking, playing, and baking brownies. The house was always full of laughter and that rich chocolatey smell. When I went away to college, she even baked a batch of brownies for me and had my mom ship them to me. Nothing says home like brownies from Mamie!

This summer had been a difficult one. Mamie was going to the hospital and doctors more often. It seemed like her body was just giving out. After Poppy passed away she just didn't seem like the same person. I am happy that she at least got to see Mike and me bring Colby home. I know that made her happy. Colby and I went and visited with her last Thursday during that trip to the hospital. Her eyes just lit up the room when she saw him. She was excited to see him and enjoyed feeding him her lunch, even though I scolded her for not eating it herself. We even got to see Luke, the therapy dog. Colby told her, "Mamie...booboo....all better.". It almost broke my heart. He gave her a big kiss and said, "Luh you!" as we left. I will always remember that day.

Today Mamie passed away. She leaves behind 5 children and spouses, 19 grandchildren with many spouses, and 12 great-grandchildren. She will be greatly missed. There is and will never be anyone like Mamie and Poppy. Colby will never see a Thanksgiving or Christmas with Mamie, he only had 6 months with her, but I will make sure that he remembers the special moments that they did share together. And I know that she is telling Poppy all about my crazy little boy. Goodbye Mamie. I will love you and Poppy always! And try to stay out of trouble you two!

4 comments:

Sharon and Patrick said...

Mel, I am so sorry for your loss.
I am sure she is with her loved ones. Sharon

Malissa said...

I am so sorry for your loss. You will carry all those wonderful memories of brownies with you forever, and you can share them with Colby. Hold on to that.

Laura said...

Oh, Melissa -- sympathy going out to you and your family. Treasure the memories. You now have another angel looking after you.

Hugs,
Laura

Christine and Stephen said...

Melissa:

So sorry for your loss ... what a sweet post to your grandparents and the love they shared together and with family... something very special for Colby to read one day.
Christine