Four Generations with Great Grandmas

Matt and I would try to get to see each of our grandmas once a week, typically on Sunday evenings. Unfortunately, over the last several weeks both grandmas had been needing more and more help and care at their homes.

Matt's grandmother, Emma was living at her house independently at 98 years old. We often went up there for pizza and cards. Willa and the other grandkids loved to play with her very old antique toy box piled with old playing cards, paper towel holders, and other very old toys. For some reason, all the kids seemed to play so well at Grandma Emma's with these toys and the adults were always able to play a few good games of cards. Emma was always good for a few good laughs, she especially liked to tease Matt. She had the most wit and wisdom of any 98 year I could ever imagine. About two monhs ago Emma needed to have surgery on her hip. After the surgery she thought it was best for her to receive around the clock care outside of her home. She spent the last weeks at Stone Hill and passed away peacefully in her sleep Monday, November 30th. As it was overwhelmingly sad to lose such an amazing mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and great-great grandmother we knew it was what was best for her. Emma often joked of waiting for her one way ticket and not buying green bananas. The stories that were shared of her the evening of her wake service are just a few of the pieces of evidence that proves she left behind a beautiful legacy. Emma had 10 children, 45 grandchildren, 106 great-grandchildren and 5 great-great grandchildren. The timeline of Emma's life includes horse and buggy to vehicle transportation, no indoor electricity to indoor electricity, outhouses to indoor plumbling. Emma and her husband, Aloysius were the first house in their area to have indoor plumbling. The stories of her raising six of her children in a 24 by 24 tin roof shed in the dead of winter while they built their new house because their other house had had a fire, her wringing 10 kids laundry through the wringer, keeping her children neat and tidy with pressed clothes, the home cooked meals with the fresh butchered chicken and hot apple pie, delivering one of her children by herself while Aloysius was getting the doctor are excellent examples of what faith, love and hard work truly is. I am honored to have gotten the chance to personally know her. Matt also thought a great deal of both is grandmother and especially admired Aloysius. I have come to know a little bit about Matt's grandpa Aloysius through many, many stories and high regards people often share. Aloysius also lived a very successful and fulfilling life. He was 93 when he passed away. I have gathered that he was well known in the area for his jokes, card playing and was also a very successful farmer and business man.

My grandmother, Hilda recently moved into Manor Care to receive more care around the clock care as well. Grandma is 80 years old and we love enjoying her company too. She has brought Matt to tears with laughter more than once with her willingness to share ANYTHING!

We continue to keep both of our grandmothers in our prayers.