RIP Grandma Jones
Grandma Jones
January 13, 1914 - May 20, 2008
So I don't have a picture available at the moment but Grandma Jones was a quiet, caring, and equally willful woman. She raised 13 children including my Dad on a farm outside of Baltimore. Grandma lived through the depression, several wars (my dad and some uncles went into the military), and outlived half of her children. She worked up until her seventies when the business she worked for went under. She also helped take care of other family members. I think it was good for her to keep her busy and motivated like that. Her motto was, "I'm still kicking, just not as high." She lived in Riesterstown for as long as I can remember, and pretty much always had another family remember living with her all that time. A cousin of mine had been living with her for at least the past 10 years. A lot of my Dad's family lives in the area as well so she was visited by my Dad, his sister, and others regularly.
Growing up I remember our visits to her house. When she knew we were coming she would make the best homemade chicken & dumplings and there was always fried chicken around. My grandfather died before I was born and my Dad would sometimes tease her about getting a boyfriend. Her line was always, "I don't need another damn husband." When you're young sometimes old people look kinda scary to you, what with the wrinkles and other signs of age, but I will probably always remember her eyes. There aren't enough adjectives to describe the clarity, happiness, and honesty in them. I always saw that when I looked at Grandma instead.
Apparently she was worse off than I had thought. I knew that she had a problem about a month ago where she couldn't get out of bed by herself, but I didn't realize that was a reoccurring thing. I think we were kept out of the loop on a lot of her problems b/c Grandma didn't want any special treatment or pity. We're told that her nurse, who visited her regularly at her home, was there when she passed on.
The way I see it is that she knew she was losing her independence and didn't want to become a burden to anyone. She was too proud accept living in a home though she may have gotten better care that way. In the end I admire her strength and courage through her 94 years of life and am proud that she was able to end her time here on her own terms.
The wake is scheduled for tomorrow and the funeral for Friday. This will be my first time attending either of these kinds of events. I'm hoping that it won't be a completely uncomfortable experience and am expecting to see a lot of family I can't name. Sadly I'm also expecting that this will be the last time I see most of my Dad's family at all, let alone in one place.
January 13, 1914 - May 20, 2008
So I don't have a picture available at the moment but Grandma Jones was a quiet, caring, and equally willful woman. She raised 13 children including my Dad on a farm outside of Baltimore. Grandma lived through the depression, several wars (my dad and some uncles went into the military), and outlived half of her children. She worked up until her seventies when the business she worked for went under. She also helped take care of other family members. I think it was good for her to keep her busy and motivated like that. Her motto was, "I'm still kicking, just not as high." She lived in Riesterstown for as long as I can remember, and pretty much always had another family remember living with her all that time. A cousin of mine had been living with her for at least the past 10 years. A lot of my Dad's family lives in the area as well so she was visited by my Dad, his sister, and others regularly.
Growing up I remember our visits to her house. When she knew we were coming she would make the best homemade chicken & dumplings and there was always fried chicken around. My grandfather died before I was born and my Dad would sometimes tease her about getting a boyfriend. Her line was always, "I don't need another damn husband." When you're young sometimes old people look kinda scary to you, what with the wrinkles and other signs of age, but I will probably always remember her eyes. There aren't enough adjectives to describe the clarity, happiness, and honesty in them. I always saw that when I looked at Grandma instead.
Apparently she was worse off than I had thought. I knew that she had a problem about a month ago where she couldn't get out of bed by herself, but I didn't realize that was a reoccurring thing. I think we were kept out of the loop on a lot of her problems b/c Grandma didn't want any special treatment or pity. We're told that her nurse, who visited her regularly at her home, was there when she passed on.
The way I see it is that she knew she was losing her independence and didn't want to become a burden to anyone. She was too proud accept living in a home though she may have gotten better care that way. In the end I admire her strength and courage through her 94 years of life and am proud that she was able to end her time here on her own terms.
The wake is scheduled for tomorrow and the funeral for Friday. This will be my first time attending either of these kinds of events. I'm hoping that it won't be a completely uncomfortable experience and am expecting to see a lot of family I can't name. Sadly I'm also expecting that this will be the last time I see most of my Dad's family at all, let alone in one place.