In loving memory.

This morning my grandmother passed away.

My Grandma Marion was a practical woman who had little if any pretense about her. She had two sons and always seemed well-suited to be the mother of boys. She was not a woman of many words but was instead a person who would sit back and quietly observe all that was going on around her.

She was widowed many, many years ago and never remarried. She lived in her own home until a few years ago when she moved to an assisted living center where she suddenly had a very active social calendar that included bingo and playing cards with a group of gentleman she called "her men."


Michal and Kenna were her youngest great grandchildren. When she first met them, Michal looked at her and asked, "Which Grandma are you?" She thought that was so funny and loved to tell people the story of when her great granddaughters came to meet her for the first time.

Eric, the girls and I went to see her in Pennsylvania in October. The girls brought her a pair of Mickey Mouse Crocs and a light-up Mickey Mouse pumpkin, both of which she thought were just hysterical.


My very practical grandmother loved baseball, doing crossword puzzles and the color pink. She also began collecting dolls as an adult. In her room there were shelves lined with collectible dolls. Michal and Kenna loved visiting her and were completely happy to sit on her floor and play with whatever she allowed them to take off the shelves. When we saw her last, Michal and Kenna put on a lengthy show for her. She was a very patient audience for them and they were only too happy to continue performing for her as long as she wanted.


My grandmother leaves behind two sons, two daughter-in-laws, five granddaughters, two grandsons and more great grandchildren and great-great grandchildren than I can begin to count.

She also leaves behind a powerful legacy of a woman who lived her life with kindness and grace; a woman who didn't say a lot but who spoke volumes nonetheless.

She will truly be missed.