Thursday, June 12, 2008

grandma grace

Brad's Grandma Grace, Lacey Grace's namesake, passed away on Tuesday. She was 90 years old. Grandma Grace's aging body has been sick for several years. Her body was tired and she was able to finally return home. This is her obituary.

Grandma Grace was a woman of strength and courage who raised 4 children as a single mother, including a fabulous son, my father-in-law, a man absolutely devoted to his family. When she was a young mother, her husband abandoned the family and Grandma was left with 4 children, ages 7 to 6 months to raise. Ken was the oldest. Their lives were far from easy during the subsequent years, but despite the difficulties, the family was able to prevail.

I remember going to Grandma Grace's house in Salt Lake and picking raspberries in her back yard. We sometimes went to her house for Sunday dinner during the time that Brad & I were attending BYU. We would eat pork roast on china, and there were always several guests in addition to us. During those dinners Brad would talk about when he was a kid and grandma served jello on lettuce. Over the years he has also shared how grandma took him to see the Nutcracker (& how he felt tortured as a young boy having to watch a ballet). Grandma Grace was an accomplished pianist. After those Sunday dinners at her home in Salt Lake, she would often sit down at the piano and entertain her guests. Grandma was a nurse, and after Brad & I were married, I discovered that she went into the home of my Great Grandma, LeIsle Rasmussen, and took care of her during the final stages of her life.

We are so thankful for Grandma Grace's life and for her legacy. I hope she is having a wonderful family reunion with her parents and sister and brothers as well as other loved ones who went before her.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

For someone as close to the Spirit as you, LaRae, I imagine with the events of this past week the veil has thinned while you contemplate and appreciate the sealing blessings your family and friends share. Were you able to attend Grandma Grace's funeral? I like how the obituary said she had a song in her heart - that's the way to go.

LaRae said...

Judy - we did attend the funeral - that is a blog post to come. I am hoping to get caught up this weekend - with several more posts to come. LaRae

Micalanne said...

LaRae - I would have loved to hear your rendition of the music you played. I believe Grandma Grace asked you to play that song because she probably enjoyed your particular talent. It sounds to me that she had a high regard for others and all they had to offer, in their own way. What a blessing to have such a woman in your life!