Sunday, November 22, 2009
Pictures from Grandma's 90th
I just thought I'd post a few pictures from Grandma's 90th birthday party.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Life Sketch given by Heather McPhie at Victoria's Funeral
My grandmother, Victoria Griffin Hayes, was born May 25th, 1919, in a log house in Rigby, Idaho, to Mary Elizabeth Richardson and Henry Alfred Griffin. She was the fifth child to join this family that would eventually grow to include eight children. Before she was a year old, the family moved to a big two-story farm house west of Rigby. This farm was the home of her childhood. This was a home full of love, hard work, and generosity. It was in this home that Grandma learned the lessons she would later teach to her own children and grandchildren.
Grandma spoke frequently of her childhood years there in Rigby. She had so many stories to tell of the good times she knew as a child. I will always remember Grandma for the stories she told. Her stories taught us so much of family love and togetherness.
Can we ever forget the story of Grandma sliding down the banister and splitting her head open and needing stitches. Or the stories of playing jacks and marbles with Uncle Kerney (by the way, if you want to win at jacks, you have to know how to hold your mouth). There were stories of sleigh rides, cutting and selling ice blocks, riding the horse, swimming in the canal, and hoeing beets. Grandma used to lament, “Kids these days just don’t know how to have fun. When I was a child, we had so much fun.”
There were mischievous stories such as the time her Grandma Richardson and cousins Mae and Jack came to visit. The children were upstairs playing and got into her mother’s trunk. Grandma Richardson said, “Mary, you need to go check on the children, they are too quiet.” As her mother started up the stairs, Jack ran out of the room and hollered, “One, two, three, for me!” Her mother turned around and went back downstairs and said, “Oh, they’re just playing hide and seek.” Grandma and the others then continued to go through the trunk.
Or there was the story of Grandma and her brothers and sisters climbing high into the cherry trees to eat the unripe green cherries. They climbed high into the trees thinking their mother couldn’t see them. Of course, her mother always knew exactly what they were doing.
There were really comical stories such as the story of Grandma and Aunt Nita putting mice in the bed that was shared by her cousin Sid and a hired hand. Grandma and Aunt Nita stood outside the door and giggled as the two boys complained to each other to “stop tickling my feet”. And there’s the story of when Uncle Kerney was bit on the behind by a dog and claimed, “I threw the dog my lunch, but he wanted a bigger piece of ham.” Uncle Kerney threatened that if the dog ever tried it again, he would “reach down the dog’s throat, grab it by the tail, and turn that dog inside out.”
There were touching stories such as when her parents were caught in a storm and couldn’t get home on Christmas Eve. Grandma and Uncle Kerney took the cream to town and traded it for Christmas toys for the younger children. But Grandma always said that the best present of all was when her parents finally arrived home safely that Christmas day.
And there were stories that taught important lessons, such as the many times she told me that she and her brothers and sisters always had so much work to do that when they finally had time to play, they didn’t waste it with fighting.
Grandma lived in times of change. She saw the destitution of the Depression and the prosperity of the 80s and 90s. She heated water in the reservoir on the cook stove, took baths in the washtub in the kitchen, and ran in the middle of the night to the outhouse, but she also lived to enjoy indoor plumbing and water heaters. She rode to school in an iron wheeled wagon and she drove a blue Buick Skylark. She counted herself lucky when her parents let her stay up until 9:00 to listen to Amos and Andy on her first radio, and she sat up late with Grandpa watching Johnny Carson on the Late Show on her big colored television. She remembered coal oil lamps as well as the day they first got electricity and turned on every light in the house then ran outside to see how the house looked. Grandma felt blessed to live in such a good time and see so many changes.
Grandma enjoyed all of her school days and loved her graduating class of 1937. Grandma always said that the entire class was so close and such good friends. She said they never thought of each other as rich or poor, they were all just good friends. All her life she loved to hear how her classmates were doing. It meant so much to her that so many of the boys in her class stayed active in the church and served missions even when they were older. With Grandma’s death, there are now only a few classmates left living, but our family recently received a letter from her class. It is so impressive they have stayed in touch all these years.
Grandma was a good student. She was one of the few students to survive Mr. Matney’s science class. She also loved being a student to Archie Williams. Mr. Williams made a huge difference in her life. He taught her to love drama, reading, and poetry. Her junior year of high school she was selected to attend a Poetry Day at University of Idaho, Southern Branch. As part of this event, she memorized and recited the poem which appears on the back of the funeral program. In preparation for Poetry Day, Mr. Williams made her stay after school and repeat this poem over and over again until she could do it without being afraid. Mr. Williams invested a lot of time into teaching her, and Grandma always felt privileged to have known him.
Grandma’s descendants have been influenced by Grandma’s love of poetry, reading, and writing. I learned poems from Grandma so early in my life that it seems I have always known them. “I’m writing a letter to Daddy,” or “I put my foot up on the stage,” or (my personal favorite) “I am a little girl with a pretty little figure, stay away boys till I get a little bigger.” I remember reciting that poem , and I remember hearing Stephanie (the youngest granddaughter) recite that poem, and now each of my little girls have learned to recite that poem.
Grandma was so talented at reading and writing poetry. Many a wedding reception took place with Grandma giving a reading she had personally written about the bride and groom. Quite often these readings would be very long and every line in them would rhyme.
As I look at all the family members who have excelled in school, I see that Grandma’s influence played a huge role in our lives. We have all tried to be good students because that was the standard Grandma set.
Grandma met Grandpa when she was a senior in high school. She and her sister Nita went to a dance dressed alike and told everyone they were the twins, Rita and Nita. Grandpa rather liked this “Rita” girl and paid off her taxi so she had no choice but to get a ride home with him. As she finally arrived home and closed the door, she said to her mother, “Thank goodness I’ll never have to see him again!” But see him again she did and soon she was wearing his class ring.
Grandma attended University of Idaho—Southern Branch (in Pocatello) while Grandpa attended the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho. Grandma was the president of her dorm, and excelled in drama classes.
On December 6th, 1940, my grandparents were married at Grandma’s home in Rigby by President Cardon. In the middle of the wedding ceremony, President Cardon stopped and made someone open a window because the groom looked faint. Let’s not forget that this was in December!
One of the interesting things Grandma and Grandpa learned about each other was that Grandpa’s cousin taught school in Rigby where Grandma went to school and Grandma’s cousin (Florence Malmberg) taught school in Aberdeen where Grandpa went to school. Florence once chided Grandma, “You never should have let him go to college without making him marry you first.”
When Grandma and Grandpa were on their honeymoon, they stopped to visit Florence Malmberg. She came out and gave Grandpa a big hug and kiss and said, “I bet you never thought that we would be kissing cousins.” Of course Grandpa turn beet red.
The happy couple made their home in Aberdeen. How our family has come to love Aberdeen! All grandma’s descendants loved visiting Grandma’s house in Aberdeen, and I’m sure many of us wanted to be just like Grandma and grow up to live in Aberdeen. Grandma had so many dear friends here. The Hayes children were quite old before they realized that Leonard and Bernice Phillips weren’t really their aunt and uncle; my Uncle Steve even has Leonard’s name as his middle name. There were the Slaughs, the Becks, the Greens, the Poulsons, the Andersons, the list goes on and on. Grandma also had two sisters, Wanda and Nita, who made their homes here in Aberdeen. Grandma’s house on Main Street was a home to us all.
My grandparents truly loved each other. In Grandma’s own words: “We truly had a happy marriage. All of our problems were always overshadowed by our love for one another.” They became the parents of four children: Ralph Wendell, Laura Ruth, LeRoy Henry, and Steven Leonard.
The Hayes family was sealed in the Idaho Falls temple on 28 March 1964. Grandma gave us all a wonderful example of what a celestial marriage and an eternal family should be. No one every doubted that Grandma and Grandpa completely loved each other.
Grandma invested her time and love into her children. My mother was sick with rheumatic fever. Many children died from that disease, but Grandma carefully nursed Mom and she recovered. Grandma even home schooled Mom through her illness, and when Mom returned to school she was probably a little ahead of her class.
Grandma and Grandpa took the family on vacations and camping trips. The family frequently visited Yellowstone. Grandma often told me the story of how Grandpa visited a Yellowstone outhouse and got stuck inside because a bear decided to park at the door of the outhouse. We also have to laugh at the story of Grandpa taking a roll of toilet paper and mummifying Grandma with it.
Grandma was also so good about traveling to visit her brothers’ and sisters’ families so her children grew up knowing and loving their cousins. Grandma taught by example that a close family is very important. She personally knew and loved each of her nieces and nephews, and she always was interested in their lives. As I grew up, she would talk about her nieces and nephews as if they were her own children. When the Griffins started holding an annual family reunion, we were expected to attend. Grandma made sure we became a close extended family.
For their 25th anniversary, Grandma and Grandpa, Nita and Freeman, and Kerney and Fern left their kids with Grandma Griffin in Logan and went to Salt Lake together. All three couples had an anniversary within a month of each other. Grandma loved that trip.
Grandma and Grandpa also had the uncommon opportunity to work together at the University of Idaho Research and Extension Center here in Aberdeen. Together they personally named most of the new varieties of grain as they were discovered. After they retired, they enjoyed each other’s company as they golfed, fished, traveled, and camped together. They were so pleased when Aberdeen’s golf course was placed next to their house. I wonder though if Grandma actually loved golfing, or if she really just loved golfing with Grandpa, because I don’t ever recall her golfing without him. Grandma and Grandpa would often fish at the beach in American Falls. They named it Medicare Beach because there were so many older people fishing there. The name has stuck.
Grandma was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the age of eight. She remained a faithful member of the church. She willingly gave many hours of her time serving the youth of the church. She also served as a counselor in the Relief Society Presidency, a Counselor and secretary in mutual, a Sunday School teacher for over 30 years, a Stake Sunday School Board Member, a Relief Society teacher, and a visiting teacher for over 40 years. Grandma loved the youth she served. It is significant the President Poulson is presiding here today. I can’t count how many times I have heard the story of little Scotty Poulson chasing the black and white kitty until it finally sprayed him and his mother had to throw his clothes away and give him multiple baths. I’ve heard how Grandma and Grandpa chaperoned the dances and made the girls take off a shoe to put in a pile then the boys had to pick a shoe and find the shoe’s owner and ask for a dance. I’ve heard all about the Little League games she attended. She and Grandpa were also so dedicated about attending our sporting events and performances. She and Grandpa did a lot of traveling to attend many of their sons’ basketball games. She also attended sporting events of her grandchildren. She and Grandpa were even able to travel to Italy to watch Steve play basketball. She loved that trip and brought home so many souvenirs. She was so honored by Uncle Steve’s success as a basketball player. I will always remember that her home décor was Uncle Steve’s trophies.
Grandma had the ability to bring family together. She always held Thanksgiving at her home, and the entire family would gather together. Grandma was such a good cook and no one could get enough of her stuffing or sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top, or green salad with shrimp, or the rolls fresh from the oven. My family also enjoyed spending Christmas Eve with Grandma as we’d visit Aunt Wanda, and then visiting Grandma again on Christmas morning. Grandma was also would frequently have us over for Sunday dinners. She also could make the best egg sandwiches. What a treat.
Grandma was also our mailman. We shared a post office box with her, so she would daily pick up the mail and drop it by our house. She always had a treat in her purse for us. She always spoiled all her grandchildren. We all have wonderful memories of Grandma’s visits to our homes. She was the best babysitter any of us ever had. I must say that Grandma commanded respect too. If we misbehaved, it was Grandma who threatened to spank us with the hair brush. This threat was always enough and we straightened right up.
She kept Grandpa in line too. One time, in the car, Grandpa forgot that the backseat was full of little grandchildren, and he let out a few choice words in reference to the traffic. One look from Grandma put an end to that, and Grandpa was duly repentant.
Grandma’s life was permanently changed when Grandpa passed away in 1986. It seems like it must have been much more than coincidence that the day Grandma passed away (October 27th) was also Grandpa’s birthday. What a perfect birthday present! And what a celebration they must have had on the other side of the veil that day.
After Grandpa died, Grandma helped Aunt Nita plan activities for the singles’ group in Pocatello. One summer they planned a trip to visit and attend all the temples in Utah. Grandma loved that experience. The same group went up to Yellowstone in the winter in the snow coaches. They also went to the Martin Harris Pageant. Grandma was so excited when the prophet sat right in front of her at the pageant.
For a time, Grandma was able to live in Texas. She was so happy to be there to see her Grandson Scotty grow up and to spend a lot of time with Kristy’s kids. She was happy that she could help out Steve and Linda by watching Scotty and taking care of him. When she moved back to Idaho, she was really worried about how Scotty would get along without her. She loved him so much. She was as good a grandma to her youngest grandchildren as she was to the oldest grandchildren.
She also enjoyed visiting Tammy in Alabama. It always made me feel young when grandma would forget and call Tammy her oldest grandchild.
Her great-grandchildren were such a blessing in her life. She frequently spoke of Colton’s great sports ability. She always remembered Abigail and liked it that Abigail held her hand. She was thrilled when Holly named a baby George—just like Uncle George. She was happy to see our first set of twins in the family. As I helped clean out the hospital room, I found pictures Annie had drawn.
She was also very proud of Bob and Brad going on missions to England. Her cousin Florence Malmberg was the first sister missionary to go to England, so she found great significance in the fact that Bob and Brad were also called to serve there.
I visited Grandma’s house this weekend and found there is still a picture of April’s BYU basketball team hanging in Grandma’s bedroom. April, we all greatly appreciate the summer you spent caring for Grandma.
Grandma was so pleased when Deborah and LeRoy named their first daughter after her. Tory always had a special place in Grandma’s heart because they shared the same name. She frequently told of how smart Tory was. Once when she visited LeRoy’s home, Tory and Eric got into trouble and both were sent to their rooms until they could apologize. Tory was immediately back out of her room with an apology. Tory then told Grandma, “Eric is so dumb, he’ll sit in his room all day long, when all he needs to do is apologize so he can come out and have fun again!” Grandma loved to tell that story.
Her 90th birthday party this May was very well attended and served as evidence of the many lives she has touch. She was so impressed she had so many bishops come! She loved that party. She kept all the birthday cards she received. She would sit and read her cards over and over again and reflect on the wonderful party.
This summer Grandma fell and broke her hip. At that time, she was not expected to live much more than a few weeks. Grandma’s family rallied around her because that is what Grandma taught us to do. We felt honored to have a chance to return the love she had given us. Family members provided round the clock care for Grandma in her time of need. With such love from her family, Grandma’s health improved. One doctor commented that he had never seen such a 180 degree turn around. Another doctor expressed how impressed she was by the love our family showed Grandma, “You have nothing to feel badly about,” she said, “your family did a good job of taking care of her. She knew that you loved her.”
I greatly appreciate my sister Linda. She spent many days with Grandma, spoon feeding her, cheering her, and loving her back to health. Grandma wasn’t always sure who Linda was, but she always said, “That girl takes good care of me,” and she greatly appreciated Linda.
The last time my mother visited Grandma, Grandma was complaining a little. “I don’t know why I had to get better,” she said. “I was ready to go be with my husband, I don’t know why I had to get better.” When her bowels began to fail, and the medical personnel let her know she was dying, she told them that she was not afraid, she was ready to go. Grandma turned to one of her caregivers, and with perfect clarity asked for a priesthood blessing. He and the doctor gave her a blessing, then she immediately relaxed and minutes later she passed away. Thus, Grandma’s earthly existence came to a close on the morning of October 27, 2009. As my mother and I arrived at the hospital shortly after Grandma’s passing, we felt a great sense of peace. Twenty-three years without her sweetheart are finally at an end. Grandma and Grandpa are reunited—never to be separated again. So, it is with joy in my heart, that I can say, “Goodbye, Grandma Hayes, we will meet again. I love you, Grandma.”
Grandma spoke frequently of her childhood years there in Rigby. She had so many stories to tell of the good times she knew as a child. I will always remember Grandma for the stories she told. Her stories taught us so much of family love and togetherness.
Can we ever forget the story of Grandma sliding down the banister and splitting her head open and needing stitches. Or the stories of playing jacks and marbles with Uncle Kerney (by the way, if you want to win at jacks, you have to know how to hold your mouth). There were stories of sleigh rides, cutting and selling ice blocks, riding the horse, swimming in the canal, and hoeing beets. Grandma used to lament, “Kids these days just don’t know how to have fun. When I was a child, we had so much fun.”
There were mischievous stories such as the time her Grandma Richardson and cousins Mae and Jack came to visit. The children were upstairs playing and got into her mother’s trunk. Grandma Richardson said, “Mary, you need to go check on the children, they are too quiet.” As her mother started up the stairs, Jack ran out of the room and hollered, “One, two, three, for me!” Her mother turned around and went back downstairs and said, “Oh, they’re just playing hide and seek.” Grandma and the others then continued to go through the trunk.
Or there was the story of Grandma and her brothers and sisters climbing high into the cherry trees to eat the unripe green cherries. They climbed high into the trees thinking their mother couldn’t see them. Of course, her mother always knew exactly what they were doing.
There were really comical stories such as the story of Grandma and Aunt Nita putting mice in the bed that was shared by her cousin Sid and a hired hand. Grandma and Aunt Nita stood outside the door and giggled as the two boys complained to each other to “stop tickling my feet”. And there’s the story of when Uncle Kerney was bit on the behind by a dog and claimed, “I threw the dog my lunch, but he wanted a bigger piece of ham.” Uncle Kerney threatened that if the dog ever tried it again, he would “reach down the dog’s throat, grab it by the tail, and turn that dog inside out.”
There were touching stories such as when her parents were caught in a storm and couldn’t get home on Christmas Eve. Grandma and Uncle Kerney took the cream to town and traded it for Christmas toys for the younger children. But Grandma always said that the best present of all was when her parents finally arrived home safely that Christmas day.
And there were stories that taught important lessons, such as the many times she told me that she and her brothers and sisters always had so much work to do that when they finally had time to play, they didn’t waste it with fighting.
Grandma lived in times of change. She saw the destitution of the Depression and the prosperity of the 80s and 90s. She heated water in the reservoir on the cook stove, took baths in the washtub in the kitchen, and ran in the middle of the night to the outhouse, but she also lived to enjoy indoor plumbing and water heaters. She rode to school in an iron wheeled wagon and she drove a blue Buick Skylark. She counted herself lucky when her parents let her stay up until 9:00 to listen to Amos and Andy on her first radio, and she sat up late with Grandpa watching Johnny Carson on the Late Show on her big colored television. She remembered coal oil lamps as well as the day they first got electricity and turned on every light in the house then ran outside to see how the house looked. Grandma felt blessed to live in such a good time and see so many changes.
Grandma enjoyed all of her school days and loved her graduating class of 1937. Grandma always said that the entire class was so close and such good friends. She said they never thought of each other as rich or poor, they were all just good friends. All her life she loved to hear how her classmates were doing. It meant so much to her that so many of the boys in her class stayed active in the church and served missions even when they were older. With Grandma’s death, there are now only a few classmates left living, but our family recently received a letter from her class. It is so impressive they have stayed in touch all these years.
Grandma was a good student. She was one of the few students to survive Mr. Matney’s science class. She also loved being a student to Archie Williams. Mr. Williams made a huge difference in her life. He taught her to love drama, reading, and poetry. Her junior year of high school she was selected to attend a Poetry Day at University of Idaho, Southern Branch. As part of this event, she memorized and recited the poem which appears on the back of the funeral program. In preparation for Poetry Day, Mr. Williams made her stay after school and repeat this poem over and over again until she could do it without being afraid. Mr. Williams invested a lot of time into teaching her, and Grandma always felt privileged to have known him.
Grandma’s descendants have been influenced by Grandma’s love of poetry, reading, and writing. I learned poems from Grandma so early in my life that it seems I have always known them. “I’m writing a letter to Daddy,” or “I put my foot up on the stage,” or (my personal favorite) “I am a little girl with a pretty little figure, stay away boys till I get a little bigger.” I remember reciting that poem , and I remember hearing Stephanie (the youngest granddaughter) recite that poem, and now each of my little girls have learned to recite that poem.
Grandma was so talented at reading and writing poetry. Many a wedding reception took place with Grandma giving a reading she had personally written about the bride and groom. Quite often these readings would be very long and every line in them would rhyme.
As I look at all the family members who have excelled in school, I see that Grandma’s influence played a huge role in our lives. We have all tried to be good students because that was the standard Grandma set.
Grandma met Grandpa when she was a senior in high school. She and her sister Nita went to a dance dressed alike and told everyone they were the twins, Rita and Nita. Grandpa rather liked this “Rita” girl and paid off her taxi so she had no choice but to get a ride home with him. As she finally arrived home and closed the door, she said to her mother, “Thank goodness I’ll never have to see him again!” But see him again she did and soon she was wearing his class ring.
Grandma attended University of Idaho—Southern Branch (in Pocatello) while Grandpa attended the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho. Grandma was the president of her dorm, and excelled in drama classes.
On December 6th, 1940, my grandparents were married at Grandma’s home in Rigby by President Cardon. In the middle of the wedding ceremony, President Cardon stopped and made someone open a window because the groom looked faint. Let’s not forget that this was in December!
One of the interesting things Grandma and Grandpa learned about each other was that Grandpa’s cousin taught school in Rigby where Grandma went to school and Grandma’s cousin (Florence Malmberg) taught school in Aberdeen where Grandpa went to school. Florence once chided Grandma, “You never should have let him go to college without making him marry you first.”
When Grandma and Grandpa were on their honeymoon, they stopped to visit Florence Malmberg. She came out and gave Grandpa a big hug and kiss and said, “I bet you never thought that we would be kissing cousins.” Of course Grandpa turn beet red.
The happy couple made their home in Aberdeen. How our family has come to love Aberdeen! All grandma’s descendants loved visiting Grandma’s house in Aberdeen, and I’m sure many of us wanted to be just like Grandma and grow up to live in Aberdeen. Grandma had so many dear friends here. The Hayes children were quite old before they realized that Leonard and Bernice Phillips weren’t really their aunt and uncle; my Uncle Steve even has Leonard’s name as his middle name. There were the Slaughs, the Becks, the Greens, the Poulsons, the Andersons, the list goes on and on. Grandma also had two sisters, Wanda and Nita, who made their homes here in Aberdeen. Grandma’s house on Main Street was a home to us all.
My grandparents truly loved each other. In Grandma’s own words: “We truly had a happy marriage. All of our problems were always overshadowed by our love for one another.” They became the parents of four children: Ralph Wendell, Laura Ruth, LeRoy Henry, and Steven Leonard.
The Hayes family was sealed in the Idaho Falls temple on 28 March 1964. Grandma gave us all a wonderful example of what a celestial marriage and an eternal family should be. No one every doubted that Grandma and Grandpa completely loved each other.
Grandma invested her time and love into her children. My mother was sick with rheumatic fever. Many children died from that disease, but Grandma carefully nursed Mom and she recovered. Grandma even home schooled Mom through her illness, and when Mom returned to school she was probably a little ahead of her class.
Grandma and Grandpa took the family on vacations and camping trips. The family frequently visited Yellowstone. Grandma often told me the story of how Grandpa visited a Yellowstone outhouse and got stuck inside because a bear decided to park at the door of the outhouse. We also have to laugh at the story of Grandpa taking a roll of toilet paper and mummifying Grandma with it.
Grandma was also so good about traveling to visit her brothers’ and sisters’ families so her children grew up knowing and loving their cousins. Grandma taught by example that a close family is very important. She personally knew and loved each of her nieces and nephews, and she always was interested in their lives. As I grew up, she would talk about her nieces and nephews as if they were her own children. When the Griffins started holding an annual family reunion, we were expected to attend. Grandma made sure we became a close extended family.
For their 25th anniversary, Grandma and Grandpa, Nita and Freeman, and Kerney and Fern left their kids with Grandma Griffin in Logan and went to Salt Lake together. All three couples had an anniversary within a month of each other. Grandma loved that trip.
Grandma and Grandpa also had the uncommon opportunity to work together at the University of Idaho Research and Extension Center here in Aberdeen. Together they personally named most of the new varieties of grain as they were discovered. After they retired, they enjoyed each other’s company as they golfed, fished, traveled, and camped together. They were so pleased when Aberdeen’s golf course was placed next to their house. I wonder though if Grandma actually loved golfing, or if she really just loved golfing with Grandpa, because I don’t ever recall her golfing without him. Grandma and Grandpa would often fish at the beach in American Falls. They named it Medicare Beach because there were so many older people fishing there. The name has stuck.
Grandma was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the age of eight. She remained a faithful member of the church. She willingly gave many hours of her time serving the youth of the church. She also served as a counselor in the Relief Society Presidency, a Counselor and secretary in mutual, a Sunday School teacher for over 30 years, a Stake Sunday School Board Member, a Relief Society teacher, and a visiting teacher for over 40 years. Grandma loved the youth she served. It is significant the President Poulson is presiding here today. I can’t count how many times I have heard the story of little Scotty Poulson chasing the black and white kitty until it finally sprayed him and his mother had to throw his clothes away and give him multiple baths. I’ve heard how Grandma and Grandpa chaperoned the dances and made the girls take off a shoe to put in a pile then the boys had to pick a shoe and find the shoe’s owner and ask for a dance. I’ve heard all about the Little League games she attended. She and Grandpa were also so dedicated about attending our sporting events and performances. She and Grandpa did a lot of traveling to attend many of their sons’ basketball games. She also attended sporting events of her grandchildren. She and Grandpa were even able to travel to Italy to watch Steve play basketball. She loved that trip and brought home so many souvenirs. She was so honored by Uncle Steve’s success as a basketball player. I will always remember that her home décor was Uncle Steve’s trophies.
Grandma had the ability to bring family together. She always held Thanksgiving at her home, and the entire family would gather together. Grandma was such a good cook and no one could get enough of her stuffing or sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top, or green salad with shrimp, or the rolls fresh from the oven. My family also enjoyed spending Christmas Eve with Grandma as we’d visit Aunt Wanda, and then visiting Grandma again on Christmas morning. Grandma was also would frequently have us over for Sunday dinners. She also could make the best egg sandwiches. What a treat.
Grandma was also our mailman. We shared a post office box with her, so she would daily pick up the mail and drop it by our house. She always had a treat in her purse for us. She always spoiled all her grandchildren. We all have wonderful memories of Grandma’s visits to our homes. She was the best babysitter any of us ever had. I must say that Grandma commanded respect too. If we misbehaved, it was Grandma who threatened to spank us with the hair brush. This threat was always enough and we straightened right up.
She kept Grandpa in line too. One time, in the car, Grandpa forgot that the backseat was full of little grandchildren, and he let out a few choice words in reference to the traffic. One look from Grandma put an end to that, and Grandpa was duly repentant.
Grandma’s life was permanently changed when Grandpa passed away in 1986. It seems like it must have been much more than coincidence that the day Grandma passed away (October 27th) was also Grandpa’s birthday. What a perfect birthday present! And what a celebration they must have had on the other side of the veil that day.
After Grandpa died, Grandma helped Aunt Nita plan activities for the singles’ group in Pocatello. One summer they planned a trip to visit and attend all the temples in Utah. Grandma loved that experience. The same group went up to Yellowstone in the winter in the snow coaches. They also went to the Martin Harris Pageant. Grandma was so excited when the prophet sat right in front of her at the pageant.
For a time, Grandma was able to live in Texas. She was so happy to be there to see her Grandson Scotty grow up and to spend a lot of time with Kristy’s kids. She was happy that she could help out Steve and Linda by watching Scotty and taking care of him. When she moved back to Idaho, she was really worried about how Scotty would get along without her. She loved him so much. She was as good a grandma to her youngest grandchildren as she was to the oldest grandchildren.
She also enjoyed visiting Tammy in Alabama. It always made me feel young when grandma would forget and call Tammy her oldest grandchild.
Her great-grandchildren were such a blessing in her life. She frequently spoke of Colton’s great sports ability. She always remembered Abigail and liked it that Abigail held her hand. She was thrilled when Holly named a baby George—just like Uncle George. She was happy to see our first set of twins in the family. As I helped clean out the hospital room, I found pictures Annie had drawn.
She was also very proud of Bob and Brad going on missions to England. Her cousin Florence Malmberg was the first sister missionary to go to England, so she found great significance in the fact that Bob and Brad were also called to serve there.
I visited Grandma’s house this weekend and found there is still a picture of April’s BYU basketball team hanging in Grandma’s bedroom. April, we all greatly appreciate the summer you spent caring for Grandma.
Grandma was so pleased when Deborah and LeRoy named their first daughter after her. Tory always had a special place in Grandma’s heart because they shared the same name. She frequently told of how smart Tory was. Once when she visited LeRoy’s home, Tory and Eric got into trouble and both were sent to their rooms until they could apologize. Tory was immediately back out of her room with an apology. Tory then told Grandma, “Eric is so dumb, he’ll sit in his room all day long, when all he needs to do is apologize so he can come out and have fun again!” Grandma loved to tell that story.
Her 90th birthday party this May was very well attended and served as evidence of the many lives she has touch. She was so impressed she had so many bishops come! She loved that party. She kept all the birthday cards she received. She would sit and read her cards over and over again and reflect on the wonderful party.
This summer Grandma fell and broke her hip. At that time, she was not expected to live much more than a few weeks. Grandma’s family rallied around her because that is what Grandma taught us to do. We felt honored to have a chance to return the love she had given us. Family members provided round the clock care for Grandma in her time of need. With such love from her family, Grandma’s health improved. One doctor commented that he had never seen such a 180 degree turn around. Another doctor expressed how impressed she was by the love our family showed Grandma, “You have nothing to feel badly about,” she said, “your family did a good job of taking care of her. She knew that you loved her.”
I greatly appreciate my sister Linda. She spent many days with Grandma, spoon feeding her, cheering her, and loving her back to health. Grandma wasn’t always sure who Linda was, but she always said, “That girl takes good care of me,” and she greatly appreciated Linda.
The last time my mother visited Grandma, Grandma was complaining a little. “I don’t know why I had to get better,” she said. “I was ready to go be with my husband, I don’t know why I had to get better.” When her bowels began to fail, and the medical personnel let her know she was dying, she told them that she was not afraid, she was ready to go. Grandma turned to one of her caregivers, and with perfect clarity asked for a priesthood blessing. He and the doctor gave her a blessing, then she immediately relaxed and minutes later she passed away. Thus, Grandma’s earthly existence came to a close on the morning of October 27, 2009. As my mother and I arrived at the hospital shortly after Grandma’s passing, we felt a great sense of peace. Twenty-three years without her sweetheart are finally at an end. Grandma and Grandpa are reunited—never to be separated again. So, it is with joy in my heart, that I can say, “Goodbye, Grandma Hayes, we will meet again. I love you, Grandma.”
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Grandma's Legacy
Hello,
This Blog was created as a place for us to compile all the stories, pictures, history, and everything we can about Grandma. Everyone is invited to post...whatever you feel like. If you have family histories, pictures, memories or grandma's recipes please share them with us all. I did not have everyones email address so if you were not invited to be an administrator (meaning that you can post things) I apologize please send an email to April at byu.april@gmail.com and she will invite you to post...or once you are an administrator you can also invite people to be administrators.
Once we have compiled everything we can, we can take this blog and turn it into a book using Blurb. Then we can all have a book if we would like of all the cool stuff about Grandma.
This is a work in progress. I would like to get a different template, one that can have multiple pages so we can sort this things out a little better. So any input people have, or nohow...Bradley ;) about creating or modifying templates would be great. But don't wait to start posting, we can organize things later!
It will be exciting to see what everyone puts up!
Heather and Holly it would be great if you would add the lovely tributes that you gave at Grandma's funeral. And Laura, once you transcribe those letters it would be great to post them on this blog too! Let us share Grandma's Legacy with each other.
This Blog was created as a place for us to compile all the stories, pictures, history, and everything we can about Grandma. Everyone is invited to post...whatever you feel like. If you have family histories, pictures, memories or grandma's recipes please share them with us all. I did not have everyones email address so if you were not invited to be an administrator (meaning that you can post things) I apologize please send an email to April at byu.april@gmail.com and she will invite you to post...or once you are an administrator you can also invite people to be administrators.
Once we have compiled everything we can, we can take this blog and turn it into a book using Blurb. Then we can all have a book if we would like of all the cool stuff about Grandma.
This is a work in progress. I would like to get a different template, one that can have multiple pages so we can sort this things out a little better. So any input people have, or nohow...Bradley ;) about creating or modifying templates would be great. But don't wait to start posting, we can organize things later!
It will be exciting to see what everyone puts up!
Heather and Holly it would be great if you would add the lovely tributes that you gave at Grandma's funeral. And Laura, once you transcribe those letters it would be great to post them on this blog too! Let us share Grandma's Legacy with each other.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)