Leila Ann (Terry) Martin

History of LEILA ANNA TERRY
22nd December 1918 to 25th July 2010

Daughter of:
Franklin Amos Terry
Ellen Anna Goodliffe

Married to:
Peter S. Martin
4th October 1940
Sealed in St. George Temple

Compiled by Janice Jones, Daughter May 13th, 2019

Leila was the second child of Franklin and Ellen Terry, born December 22, 1918 in Enterprise, Utah. Mom said she was a special Christmas gift. There were 10 children in the family, 4 brothers and 5 sisters: Arvetta, Leila, Gordon, Clifford, Laverna, Leona, Wendell, Jewel, Arnold, Jean. Her parents lived in town during the school year and then on the Terry Ranch, 15 miles west of Enterprise during the summer. Everyone worked hard and had responsibilities for their family. Leila was the only girl in the family that could milk the cows. She also learned to cook and clean the house. They had to fetch water, heat it on the wood stove, wash clothes by hand with a washboard, and bathe in a round tub. They made their own laundry soap, sewed their clothes, ironed the clothes with a flat iron heated on the stove, made quilts. They grew a lot of their own food and bottled it for the winter. They were frequently awakened at 4 am to help with the hay. Their responsibility was to stomp on the hay in the wagon as it was pitched up so more hay could be loaded and there would be less trips to unload it. There was a pond on the ranch they frequently swam in. Mom loved riding horses bareback. She would have boxing fights with her brothers.

Arvetta and Leila were inseparable in school. The kids teased Leila for her red hair and Arvetta got in to many fights over this. Mom didn’t like her freckles and tried several home remedies to erase the freckles. She always wore a hat and long sleeves to prevent freckles. Laverna had a lot of freckles too. They both learned to accept it. Mom graduated from Enterprise High School in 1937.

Mom worked for several families after graduation, cooking, cleaning, and taking care of children. She also worked in the Zion’s Hotel. Every weekend they went to dances which is where she met her future husband, Peter Smith Martin. She was in Milford helping Aunt Gilva, when they met at a dance. Dad said she was the prettiest red-haired girl in a blue velvet dress.

They dated for 2 years. He didn’t get to see her too much because he had to hitch hike to Enterprise or ride the train to Modena, Nevada and then ride in the mail truck from Modena to Enterprise. He also loved to come to Enterprise to be with Mom’s brothers and go hunting and fishing. He proposed to Mom in the Jones store while having banana splits. He had to borrow $50 from the bank to get married. Dad said Mom just about didn’t accept the marriage proposal. There was another man she was considering. She said she would only get married if it was in the temple. They were married in the St. George Temple October 4, 1940.

One of her special gifts was a quilt made by her family. Each person designed and embroidered a quilt block. Dad even helped to quilt it. They went to Rexburg, Idaho to visit Grandma Goodliffe and other relatives for their honeymoon. They didn’t take any pictures of their wedding because they couldn’t afford it.

The first place they lived in after getting married was an apartment in Milford. Unknown to Dad, Mom was saving money when she could and they soon had enough for a down payment for a house. Their first house was a small cement house which cost $100. Later they built another house on the same lot. Bill, their first child, was born June 20, 1942. Marlene, the second child, was born August 12, 1946. In 1950, they moved to Cedar City where they bought a new house and lived there a few years. Mom and Dad moved back to Milford since Dad worked on the railroad. On April 8, 1956, they were surprised to have twins, Joyce and Janice, since they didn’t know they were having twins. Patty, their last child, was born May 8, 1957.

It was a very busy time with three small children and Mom needed a lot of help since Dad was gone a lot with his job. Bill and Marlene were great helpers and tended a lot! Mom also worked at different jobs – in the hospital as an aide, selling Avon/Fuller Brush products.

Her main focus on life, though, was her family. She was a great mother, serving in many ways. She encouraged us to do well in school. She taught her children to read using phonics. We came home for lunch every day and Mom had a nice lunch prepared for us. She helped us with piano lessons and made sure we practiced the piano and our band instruments. She got us involved in extra activities like 4H, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. She also taught us to work hard and how to clean and cook. She was an excellent cook and would spend all day baking bread, cake, cookies, and pies. We had many special dinners for Thanksgiving, Christmas and when family came to visit. We bottled fruit and vegetables each summer from the garden Dad planted. She was an excellent seamstress and helped us learn to sew quite well over the years. She could make her own pattern just by looking at the different clothes. She sewed most of our clothes. She made many quilts by cutting out patterns, sewing them together and then hand stitching them. She even worked in a sewing factory with Patty to support her. She made fancy dresses for the grandkids. She even refurnished a couch. She also was talented in cutting and styling hair and gave many perms for family members.

She was the main person to teach us the gospel. She was in charge of family prayers, Family Home Evening, studying the scriptures. She was our Primary teacher and I remember memorizing all the 12 Articles of Faith. She was involved with Mutual (Young Women’s). She was a great example to us by serving in many church callings and attending the temple. She loved singing the hymns and had a strong testimony. She was a pillar of strength for the family.

We had lots of fun as a family. Mom and Dad loved the outdoors. They took us on many picnics, camping, fishing, and deer hunting in the Milford & Beaver Mountains and Lake Powell. We picked pine nuts. We visited the National Parks and Monuments – Zions, Bryce, Yellowstone, and Cedar Breaks. We visited Aunt Jean in Washington and went to Vancouver, BC. We visited Marlene in Portland, OR and Bill in California several times. We made many trips to Salt Lake to see our Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and cousins. We frequently rode the train with Mom and then walked from the Railroad Station to Grandma Terry’s place. We went to Cedar a lot to visit Jewel and her family.

We all graduated from college: Bill got his BA in Music at Utah State University, a Master’s in Music from the University of Southern California, Doctorate of Medicine from the University of Utah and did his medical residency in Radiology at Stanford University. Marlene got her BA in Education and Masters of Special Education from Utah State University. Joyce got her Associate Degree in Nursing from Brigham Young University. Janice got her BS in Nursing from the University of Utah. Patty got her BA in Education from Southern Utah State University. Mom and Dad worked very hard for all the kids to attend college and were very proud of their accomplishments.

Mom and Dad always supported the family in good and bad times. They tended Andrea, my first daughter, for 2 years every day so I could finish High School. They had a special bond with all their grandchildren and loved to visit them. Many of the same activities they did with us as children, they did with the grandchildren. They loved playing games with the kids like Aggravation, ping pong in the backyard or going on bike rides.

When Dad retired, Mom and Dad kept busy in the yard and house. They helped Bill with his mountain property in the Cedar Mountains. They focused on eating healthy and exercising.

After Dad passed away September 1, 1999, Mom kept busy managing the house and yard by herself. It became too much for her and she moved to Salt Lake and lived in a trailer court where her sisters Jean and Laverna lived. She really enjoyed living by them. We enjoyed seeing her often and helping to take care of her. Later she needed more assistance due to a stroke and moved into assisted living. She passed away July 25, 2010 and is buried in the Milford Cemetery. She was 91! A grandchild, Timothy, described her as a “very warm, determined woman, who was not afraid to get her hands dirty.” We love you Mom and thank you for the legacy you left for us.

 

PETER SMITH MARTIN

Compiled by Janice Jones, daughter May 13th, 2019

Peter Smith Martin was born February 23, 1917 in Milford, Utah to Harry Edward Martin and Letha Rogerson Martin. He was the second child. Harry was his older brother and Katherine, his sister.

He remembers his childhood to be quite happy even though there were hardships due to the depression. He was very interested in silent movies and went to shows every chance he got even if he had to sneak in. It cost 10 cents to go to the movies. He would collect the old whiskey bottles and sell them back to the bootleggers. He go a nickel for a half pint and a dime for a pint. That is how he got his spending money. He really liked comedies and said he learned to read watching those silent movies. You had to be able to read quickly in order to know what was going on in the movie.

As a boy, he did a lot of rabbit hunting with his 22 rifle. He made some very unusual shots. Everyone ate rabbits in those days so they weren’t wasted. That is why he was such a good hunter later in life.

Many times he would ride his bicycle up to Frisco to explore. It was 16 miles one way up a steep mountain. It was still a fairly good sized town then.

There were a lot of different nationalities in Milford. All the kids were fairly rough so you had to fight for survival. They had a North and South end gangs and at times it got quite rough. At age 8, his parents divorced and it was a hard time for him.

School days had its ups and downs but he enjoyed school. He liked math, spelling and reading. In High School, he enjoyed sports. He played basketball and ran the mile and cross country in track. He graduated from Milford High School in 1936. He had a scholarship in track to attend Southern Utah State College in Cedar City but was unable to attend.

He worked to help support his family during school. The first job he had was loading potatoes in railroad cars for $1.00 a day for 10 hours. It was hard work since a sack of potatoes weighed more than him. Another job for the summer was with the Civil Conservation Corp, the CCC. He worked at Bryce Canyon building the roads and trails. He also spent some time working on the WPA, the Works Project Administration. After high school, he worked at the Desert Range Exploration station for $6/day which was good pay in those days but the job didn’t last very long. He also worked in the Quadmettle mine for a while but didn’t like it because of the gases, the loose ground and the moisture.

In 1937, he went to work on the section for the railroad. He worked there for 5 years. The section job involved building the tracks which was very hard work. Later he started working on the train service as a brakeman and a conductor. This was a difficult job and had its share of risks. In 1980, he retired from the railroad after 43 years of service.

While working on the railroad, he spent many hours mining at the Horn Silver, Last Chance and Bellevue mines. This was done by hand, not with machinery. Over the years, he mined 2,000 tons of ore. In order to get 2,000 tons of ore, you had to mine three times that amount. Uncle Wes and Bill helped him at the mine. Bill said that is how he was able to go to college. Dad had no formal training of mining but became interested in it because of his grandfather.

Dad had many talents and interests. He always loved the out of doors and as a family we would go camping, hunting or fishing. We ate a variety of meats like venison, goose, pheasant and many kinds of fish. When Bill was in scouting, Dad was his Scout Master.

His number one interest was gardening. He would research out what kinds of plants were best to plant, send away for the seeds, plant them in special soil which he mixed and cultivate them until they were ready to be planted. This usually started in March in the garage under special lights until planting in May. Of course his garden was already planted and doing well before anyone else had even started. He had the best garden in town and shared his produce with all the neighbors plus he helped to can all the vegetables and fruits for the family. He also had a beautiful well-groomed yard with all kinds of flowers, trees and plants.

He was an all-around fix-it man. He repaired everything from lawn mowers, small engines, bikes and cars. He even built his own boat from a kit he ordered. He helped many of the widows in town who needed help. You didn’t waste things in those days or buy a new item. You either found another use for it or repaired it. He also did a lot of recycling like aluminum cans and other metals. He also remodeled the house which they lived in which included plumbing, electrical work, dry walling and finishing work.

Dad was a great person to give advice and influence others. I remember him telling me not to be known as a “quitter” when I wanted to stop Girl Scouts. He had great advice on how to save money and stay out of debt. He didn’t buy anything unless he had the money saved up for it and then paid in cash. He had a big impact on the grandchildren too. When he saw the granddaughters, he sang “here she comes, Miss America”. He took many of the grand kids fishing and that was very memorable to them. His family was the most important to him and he taught us to work things out if possible instead of getting a divorce. He had a strong testimony of the gospel and was a good example of serving others and leading our home. Mom and Dad were married for 59 years, another good example for his family. His greatest joy was being with his family whom he was very devoted to. He was a hardworking man who gave of his time and talents to his family, friends, church and community. He passed away suddenly on September 1, 1999 with congestive heart failure and cardiac arrest. He is buried in the Milford Cemetery along with his parents and sister.

MEMORIES OF VISITING THE MARTIN’S IN MILFORD

By Jaena Ricks-Gibson

Are we there yet?  It seemed to me like it took forever to drive to Milford and eagerness was consuming me.  At last, we rounded the corner and pulled into Pete and Leila’s driveway. 

There they were, Uncle Pete and Aunt Leila running out of their house to greet us with warm smiles and open arms.  Immediately my senses were filled the heady aroma of the flowers that grew all around their entire yard.  Ah, the sweet smell of petunias, lilacs and honeysuckle.  Oh how I loved the honeysuckle plants.  My cousin Pat had already showed me how to find the plumpest bloom on the bush so I could savor the taste of the sweet honey nectar from the tip of the flower. My mouth was watering already.

It was considered polite in our family to have a proper two or three hour visit on the couch before being released to do other activities such as unpacking the car or playing in the yard.  Most of the time this consisted of sitting on the couch next to mom listening to the “old folks” catch up on the latest gossip.

In my minds eye, I can see myself sitting the sofa with my parents.  As I survey the room; the couch we sat on faced a big picture window to the street, there were two chairs; one on each side of the window where Pete and Leila sat and a small table in between them and at the opposite end of the living room stood the piano.

I closed my eyes and let my mind drift. I could almost hear Bill tickling the ivories into one of the liveliest tunes I’d ever heard.  Glancing over the amazing sheet music he’d just played was always mesmerizing, to me it was just a blur of black dots scattered all over the page. I couldn’t even begin to imagine how anyone could read that kind of music, let alone translate it to the fingers.  And then somehow he managed, touching so many piano keys all at the same time, to produce a wonderful, well-composed piece!  It was pure magic to me.  Aunt Leila told me if I practiced every day, and practiced really hard, that I might be able to play that very same song someday, but of course, I didn’t believe her.  So then, I would settle for Pat teaching me a new, much simpler song on the piano so I could take it home and show my friends.

As I pulled my thoughts back to the present, I heard Uncle Pete bragging about the several fish he’d just caught. “They’re in the freezer!” he said and I translated that to mean we’re having fish for dinner tonight and that was all right with me. Dinnertime was always a happy time at Pete and Leila’s.  It was such fabulous event and we all worked together to prepare the meal. I usually got assigned to set the table, this was a perfect time for mom and Leila to teach me which side of the plate the fork went on, which I still can’t remember to this day! Sometimes I’d get a little confused about the proper placement for a table setting and then I would have to endure friendly teasing throughout the entire dinner!

Their food was so fresh, wholesome and delicious.  Mostly because they grew their own foods in one of the best gardens I have ever seen.  It was always fun to go out to the garden with Aunt Leila to see what we could pick for dinner. We cleaned it and prepared it with our mouths watering in eager anticipation of the forthcoming meal.  Even in the wintertime we ate out of that garden because Aunt Leila was such a hard worker, she always canned and preserved enough food to last through out the entire winter until harvest time again. 

Often times, Uncle Pete would hunt or fish to provide the meat of the meal. One time, Uncle Pete took us all fishing.  It was the first time I’d ever gone fishing.  Somehow I managed to talk Uncle Pete into threading that icky, wiggly worm on my hook; he even cast it into the lake for me!  From there out it was my job to hold this pole in my hands and tell someone if I felt a tug.  I remember feeling very anxious about that assignment, I was afraid that a big fish might just tug Uncle Pete’s fishing pole right out of my hands.  So there I stood, white knuckled, gripping this fishing pole, waiting, waiting and waiting some more.  Nothing happened.  I looked around and noticed that my cousin had just caught another fish.  I thought I was doing it all wrong when all of a sudden, I felt the pole give a little jerk.  Could it be a fish?  Another stronger jerk and then a big yank!  “Help!” I hollered and Uncle Pete came running to my rescue.  He took my fishing pole and as he wound the line in, there it was, a wiggly slimy rainbow trout hanging at the end of my line.  Uncle Pete expertly grabbed a hold of the fish, hit its head on a rock until it proved lifeless then he handed the fish to me and my dad snapped a picture.  It was then that I knew my Uncle Pete was a real live professional fisherman; he’d made me feel so special that day and I was proud to be part of his life! 

All the way home he told my dad how to make smoked salmon.  He had just bought a special smokehouse that was set up in his shed.  He said he had to continually feed smoke chips into the fire for at least twenty-four hours in order to achieve that mouth watering smoky taste.  I remember that Uncle Pete sent some of that fish home with us; it tasted so good, practically melted in my mouth.  As a matter of fact, my mom was furious with me when she went to the fridge and found out I had snuck bits and pieces of salmon so many times that it was gone!  I didn’t mean to eat it all…but it was better than anything I’d ever tasted.

All this reminiscing about dinner, gardens and fishing started my stomach to growling but I was still sitting on the sofa for the obligatory visiting session and dinner wouldn’t come around for a while yet.  So I began to ponder other things, like, maybe I could talk one of my cousins into pulling out their old bicycle so we could ride to the drive inn for a shake!  It was a tandem bike or a bicycle built for two!  My cousins and I somehow always managed to work together and arrive in one piece, which sometimes proved to be easier said than done.  One of us had to hold the bike while the other one climbed on the back; then we had to start pedaling at the exact same time.  Half the time we tipped over at this point and ended up on the ground in a heap laughing hysterically at each other.  Oh my, I have fond memories of that bike!

 “How would you like to go to the train yard?” Uncle Pete asked.  I had been so lost in thought I almost forgot that we were still sitting on the sofa.  Uncle Pete worked for the Union Pacific Railroad.  It was so cool seeing him all dressed up in his striped overalls and conductor hat that my heart spilled over with pride.  Sometimes he took us girls to the train yard and let us climb up into the engineer’s car with him, and then we’d travel a short distance down the track to the big Milford water tower to fill the tank.  One time Uncle Pete even got us free train tickets to ride to Milford all the way from Salt Lake.  I enjoyed being around the trains.

It was late afternoon and we had been visiting quite some time now.  I wondered when it would be time for dinner. Yes, I was hungry.  But wait, what’s this?  Uncle Pete was setting up the ping-pong table after dinner!  Now I knew I couldn’t wait much longer!  I was good at ping-pong and there wasn’t anything better than hanging out on the patio on a warm summer’s eve, playing ping pong with the floodlights on with a little healthy competition brewing until eventually everyone drifted off to bed. 

I knew I would get to sleep in Pat’s room.  I loved how it was always so clean and organized.  I could almost feel myself slipping between the cool sheets and dozing off with my head on her fluffy feather pillow dreaming about all the wonderful things of the day…wait a minute…is this all just a wonderful dream?  In the distance, I can hear my mom saying, “Jaena, wake up, its time to help with dinner!”  Rubbing my eyes I sat up and realized I had just dozed off on the sofa and my grand adventure at Uncle Pete’s and Aunt Leila’s had only just begun!

LEILA ANNA MARTIN FUNERAL TALK

By Elizabeth Jones

Hello, I am Elizabeth Jones.  For reference, I am Leila’s granddaughter through Janice and Kyle Jones.  I am honored to speak to you today about Grandma and share some memories from the grandchildren.  I spent a lot of time in Milford and with my grandparents, in fact trying to think of my life without Milford and my grandparents is impossible.  Thinking of my own memories and hearing memories of the other grandchildren this last week has been quite the privilege.  I think my cousin Tim eloquently characterized grandma when he described her as a “very warm, determined woman, who was not afraid to get her hands dirty.  Her family was a focal point in her life and she loved giving hugs to her grandchildren.” The following stories and memories I’d like to share, I think, demonstrate this description. 

One of undeniable characteristics of grandma is she loved to be healthy.  She would walk, ride the old-fashioned bicycles past the golf course after dinner, use her shaking machine in the basement, use tire pulls, and the swivel board to twist and strengthen her core, and when she first moved into the nursing home, they had a weight room and she would go in and lift away.  I just find it humorous thinking of my 80 something year old grandma doing a leg press or bicep curls.  She maintained her love of exercise all throughout her life.  In fact, a couple of weeks ago I went and visited grandma at Garden Terrace with my Mom.  My mom asked her if she wanted to go for a walk and she responded with a resounding, “Yes!” We went for a walk, and she was walking quite quickly in control of her walker.  While we were walking down the hall the nurse told us that he had already taken grandma out for a walk today.  She just loved exercise that much that she would do double duty in one day!  Sometimes grandma’s fitness gave her more energy than people much younger.  At both my cousins’, Anthony’s and Peter’s, wedding they had a dance floor.  Grandma was the first one on the dance floor and the last one to leave.  She danced the whole night.  Whenever someone insisted she take a rest she would for maybe a song, then jump back on her feet.

Besides exercise, it is pretty impossible to think of grandma without thinking of her making healthy food.  My sister Melissa remembers that even when grandma would make a dessert to accompany a big fancy dinner she would always put zucchini or something in it, so that even the dessert was healthy.  Grandma had a reputation for being a good cook.  Whenever my sister Andrea would come to visit her in Milford she would be sure to make Andrea’s favorite wheat bread and rice pudding with raisins in it, she would even grind her own wheat!  My cousin Deborah fondly remembers her pies, and just in general she was known for her cooking skills.  My cousin Jeffery has a memory of grandma that took place probably about 8 years ago.  He and some friends had just caught some fish.  He knew grandma would cook it up right and make it taste good, so he asked her to cook it.  She of course agreed to cook it.  Jeffery and a friend spent the night at her trailer in Salt Lake, visiting and eating the fish that Jeffery had caught and grandma had cooked.  Jeffery said, “It tasted great!”

Grandma was good at a lot of things, cooking was one, and sewing was another.  I remember the dress she made for me when I was in Patty’s wedding party as a flower girl.  I felt like a princess in it.  My sister Andrea remembers a time when she was in 5^th grade and the school was having a valentine’s dance, with dance cards and everything.  Our family didn’t have money to buy a fancy dress at the time, so my mom bought some fabric and patterns and within a weekend Grandma had sewn Andrea a two beautiful skirts, one blue with ruffles and one maroon with cream lace, with a beautiful cream blouse, complete with pleats, darts, and puffed short sleeves.  Andrea felt so pretty at her first school dance!  There was another benefit of grandma making such beautiful dresses.  She would make fancy dresses for Marlene, Joyce, Janice, and Patty when they were growing up too, and she would let us also play dress up in them!  Which was fun to play in the dresses with the wind up music on her wall clock, Melissa, Andrea and Stefani remember doing this, and I think it was “Moon River”. 

One thing that I remember about Grandma is that she never wasted anything.  As Joyce mentioned, grandma’s motto was definitely, “waste not, want not.”  We would always keep our aluminum cans, pick them up when we saw them on our walks, and grandma would reuse almost everything if she could.  Even put scraps of old denim jeans in her quilts.  I remember my cousins, Melanie, Michelle, and I talking about how we should get grandma some Tupperware and garbage sacks as a present one year because she would always use old yogurt containers and old grocery bags.  However, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned the wisdom of her ways.  In my apartment I only ever use old grocery bags as my garbage sacks. 

Grandma always wanted to improve herself and help her family improve.  You saw this with her dedication to the study of phonics.  My sister Angela has a specific memory of one time when our parents were out of town and our Grandma and Grandpa were watching us.  Angela asked for a drink and grandma made sure to pronounce it back to Angela, emphasizing the “r”, saying “Drrrrink”.  Angela said it again, but apparently wasn’t saying it correctly because grandma insisted she say it again at least 3 times.  Grandma emphasized her phonics so much that my cousin Jeffery said that she taught him how to read by using it. 

Another way that grandma encouraged us to be our best is in music.  Grandma loved music very much.  Whenever I would visit her at her house in Milford she would tell me to practice my piano pieces.  She would love to hear the music, even if I didn’t play it perfectly.  When she was older, sometimes when she would be visiting for dinner and I would need to entertain her and we would have a lull in conversation, I would just pull out the hymn book and play hymns for her.  I grew tired of playing long before she grew tired of listening.  I think this is partly because she loved church, however, that didn’t stop Andrea from remembering when she was visiting how she would be running late every Sunday and grandpa grumbling about it as she was taking her curlers out. 

I think another part of her wanting to listen to me play the piano was because she liked spending time with her family.  She loved talking with us as we played ping pong in the backyard with grandpa.  She loved playing games with us, such as aggravation in the trailer.  She also loved playing cards with her sisters, and my cousin Deborah would love to go play with them.  Deborah said that sometimes grandma would cheat, but she didn’t think that grandma realized this.  And this last week as my mom, sister and I compiled pictures for the memory DVD of grandma, she was involved in so many aspects of our lives: birthday parties, trips to the zoo, babysitting us, baptisms, marriages, or Easter trips to the southern Utah parks like Zion and Cedar Breaks.  She would always clear out her schedule for us if we made time for her.  Whether it was going to talk with her in Milford, or in her trailer in Salt Lake, or if we scheduled time to go with her to the temple, as Deborah did, and have lunch.

I know that grandma Martin loved all her grandkids.  As I’ve gotten older, on top of her interactions with me, I’ve seen how she interacts with her great grandkids.  She would always stoop down to them on their level, grab their hands, play with them, and give them undivided attention.  I have seen this with all my nieces and nephews.  She loved her family so much, she knew how special each of us were, and she made sure we all knew this and got a little bit of her attention. 

Grandma was full of love.  There are so many good memories of grandma, and a lot of them are intertwined with our grandpa.  It was because our grandma also loved our grandpa very much.  She would tell the story of how one summer she was visiting her aunt in Milford and grandpa saw her and thought she was the prettiest thing he ever saw.  After grandpa passed away, my sister Andrea saw a picture of him on grandma’s key chain.  She saw Andrea admiring it, and said, “He was a really good husband.”

There will always be little memories of grandma with each of her grandchildren: whether it was the fake grapes in her living room, the little washcloths on the back of the fancy chairs, she and grandpa falling asleep when they were watching the news, the handful of times that grandma would say, “Damn!”, how she called lunch dinner and dinner supper, the quilts and all the clothes she sewed for us, the example of her strong work ethic, even being able to work all day to build a stone fence when the hired 40 year old man was sitting winded on the porch, or her example of how to avoid freckles with a wide brimmed hat and long sleeves, or the daily reminders, such as the furniture that my sister Melissa inherited.  Melissa says, that besides the reminder of grandma, she loves the fancy yellow antique couch because now she can sit on it whenever she wants, even though grandma never let her sit on it when she was younger. 

I am so grateful for my grandma, the lessons I’ve learned from her example and the legacy and determination that she leaves with us.  As Angela said to describe grandma at her 50^th wedding anniversary, she always loves us.  And I am pretty sure that we will always love her.  I love you grandma!

I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.