My Grandma Faught
Four years ago, I woke up to horrible news. My grandmother had passed away after fighting pancreatic cancer for about 6 months. It was also her birthday.
She was born June 21, 1924 (the Summer Solstice) at her family's home in Tiawah, Oklahoma and died on the same property 84 years later on June 21, 2008.
In her 84 years of life, my grandmother experienced WWII, the Great Depression, the Korean conflict, the Vietnam War, Dessert Storm and the Iraq War, the JFK and Martin Luther King, Jr. assassinations, the invention of the television and the internet, the Civil Rights movement, the Clinton scandal, and September 11.
She may not have been a celebrity or world leader, but she was famous in our family for her kind and compassionate spirit, her hilarious sense of humor and all of the love she had to offer. She always made each of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren feel uniquely special. And each of us have our own special memories we carry of her. Here are mine:
She kept her cell phone turned off, in a sock, in her purse (or sometimes in the dresser drawer at home). She always had hard candy in her purse or in various candy bowls around the house. She had closets full of clothes, many times with the tags still on because she didn't like to try on clothes in the stores, but also hated to take anything back. She loved a good party and a good fart joke. She piled her sandwiches so high with fresh veggies from Grandpa's garden that at times it was doubtful that she would be able to get her mouth around the entire thing. She did crossword puzzles in bed at night. She always smelled of Pond's cold cream. She could grow the most beautiful flowers. She made the BEST strawberry jam from Grandpa's strawberries and the best barbecue sauce. She would play the same Acappella tape in her car over and over. She kept her money hidden in a pouch that hooked onto her bra. She loved to hold hands and hers were always soft. I always thought she looked prettiest in her straw hat and garden gloves. She loved the Lord and her family fiercely. She could crochet and quilt, and she used to make my mother's clothes. She loved to travel. She would put an entire block of Philadelphia cream cheese in her mashed potatoes. She taught me to make the best pie crust. Her house always smelled of something good to eat. She had beautiful handwriting. She gave us peanut butter and pancake mix for Christmas. She had a love/hate relationship with cats. Every month while I was in college she would send me some spending money as well as sweet notes, usually about nothing in particular, but I looked forward to those notes more than anything. She told me to marry a man who respected my opinion much like Grandpa respected her opinion. I loved listening to her high-pitched, wavering voice when she sang in church. She made me a quilt from old t-shirts. She never went to high school, but she took care of her family during some pretty hard times, and she was one of the smartest women I knew when it came to cooking, baking, crocheting, gardening, and quilting. She gave me a certificate of deposit (CD) for my wedding dress, "just in case she wasn't around to help me buy it," which she wasn't. Even in her darkest hour, she always reminded us that "It will be fine."
I wish I could remember exactly all the things she told me during the last time we spoke. It was in May...just a month before she died. I remember leaving her house, knowing that it would be the last time I got to talk with her. I cried the entire way home. But I also remember leaving there with such peace. My grandma wasn't afraid of dying because she knew where she was going: to Heaven to be with her Father and my grandpa, the love of her life. She didn't want us to be afraid either.
My grandmother lived an amazing life, and I was blessed to know her for 23 years. I wish I had appreciated her more. I wish I had called her more. I wish she was still around so I could call her with cooking questions or see her on Christmas Eve. I wish she could have been at my wedding. I wish she was around to meet Mary Liz and my future children.
But I am beyond blessed with the memories I keep of her and the things I have of hers, like her wedding ring and Mary Liz's bedroom set.
She was a special lady, my Grandma Faught.
She was born June 21, 1924 (the Summer Solstice) at her family's home in Tiawah, Oklahoma and died on the same property 84 years later on June 21, 2008.
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| In her garden |
In her 84 years of life, my grandmother experienced WWII, the Great Depression, the Korean conflict, the Vietnam War, Dessert Storm and the Iraq War, the JFK and Martin Luther King, Jr. assassinations, the invention of the television and the internet, the Civil Rights movement, the Clinton scandal, and September 11.
She may not have been a celebrity or world leader, but she was famous in our family for her kind and compassionate spirit, her hilarious sense of humor and all of the love she had to offer. She always made each of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren feel uniquely special. And each of us have our own special memories we carry of her. Here are mine:
She kept her cell phone turned off, in a sock, in her purse (or sometimes in the dresser drawer at home). She always had hard candy in her purse or in various candy bowls around the house. She had closets full of clothes, many times with the tags still on because she didn't like to try on clothes in the stores, but also hated to take anything back. She loved a good party and a good fart joke. She piled her sandwiches so high with fresh veggies from Grandpa's garden that at times it was doubtful that she would be able to get her mouth around the entire thing. She did crossword puzzles in bed at night. She always smelled of Pond's cold cream. She could grow the most beautiful flowers. She made the BEST strawberry jam from Grandpa's strawberries and the best barbecue sauce. She would play the same Acappella tape in her car over and over. She kept her money hidden in a pouch that hooked onto her bra. She loved to hold hands and hers were always soft. I always thought she looked prettiest in her straw hat and garden gloves. She loved the Lord and her family fiercely. She could crochet and quilt, and she used to make my mother's clothes. She loved to travel. She would put an entire block of Philadelphia cream cheese in her mashed potatoes. She taught me to make the best pie crust. Her house always smelled of something good to eat. She had beautiful handwriting. She gave us peanut butter and pancake mix for Christmas. She had a love/hate relationship with cats. Every month while I was in college she would send me some spending money as well as sweet notes, usually about nothing in particular, but I looked forward to those notes more than anything. She told me to marry a man who respected my opinion much like Grandpa respected her opinion. I loved listening to her high-pitched, wavering voice when she sang in church. She made me a quilt from old t-shirts. She never went to high school, but she took care of her family during some pretty hard times, and she was one of the smartest women I knew when it came to cooking, baking, crocheting, gardening, and quilting. She gave me a certificate of deposit (CD) for my wedding dress, "just in case she wasn't around to help me buy it," which she wasn't. Even in her darkest hour, she always reminded us that "It will be fine."
I wish I could remember exactly all the things she told me during the last time we spoke. It was in May...just a month before she died. I remember leaving her house, knowing that it would be the last time I got to talk with her. I cried the entire way home. But I also remember leaving there with such peace. My grandma wasn't afraid of dying because she knew where she was going: to Heaven to be with her Father and my grandpa, the love of her life. She didn't want us to be afraid either.
My grandmother lived an amazing life, and I was blessed to know her for 23 years. I wish I had appreciated her more. I wish I had called her more. I wish she was still around so I could call her with cooking questions or see her on Christmas Eve. I wish she could have been at my wedding. I wish she was around to meet Mary Liz and my future children.
But I am beyond blessed with the memories I keep of her and the things I have of hers, like her wedding ring and Mary Liz's bedroom set.
She was a special lady, my Grandma Faught.
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| She made the most beautiful quilts |
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| An amazingly sweet woman |
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| My college graduation |
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