Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Grandma Mac

Marshmallows and chocolate chips in one of those little Dixie cups. You know the kind you used to pull out of the dispenser by your sink? And a wooden chair on a wooden floor. Those were my first memories of my Grandmother Mary McElmeel.  I never knew my Grandpa McElmeel, he died in 1952, 11 years before I was born. Grandma died yesterday. She was 98. We were all by her bedside at the end. I got to hold her hand as her heart beat slower and slower and her respirations became more irregular and farther apart. She never regained conciousness  in the last hour of life. I like to think she knew we were all there. And then she stopped.

My Grandma was a widow for 64 years, she raised a family mostly by herself in a time when that wasn't as easy as it is today. She was a teacher for over 30 years. She was a farmer. She lived alone and independent until her last day on earth. She never suffered from any of the altered mental status issues that plague so many folks as they get older. My Grandma loved to play cards and Yahtzee. She didn't like to lose at cards. She was stubborn. She never criticized anyone that I know of. The most you might get out of her was a " I don't care for that." My Grandma had grandchildren, great grandchildren, and great great grandchildren. My Grandma used to smile at me. She sent me a birthday card every single birthday, my whole life. I wasn't the only one, she did it for all her grandkids, great grandkids and great great grandson.

Marshmallows and chocolate chips in a Dixie cup. Her apartment under the Post Office. Shooting cottage cheese out my nose at Thanksgiving because she made me laugh. Our lunch time card games. I will remember those. Goodbye Grandma you did your job.

Mary McElmeel Obituary

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