94 years - The Passing of a Lifetime

mekender · Post by **mekender** » Tue Feb 03, 2009 5:46 am

After a long 94 years, sometime this month, my only surviving grandparent will finally rest... So far, all i know is that her blood pressure is basically immeasurable and that it really is only her pacemaker that is keeping her alive... She managed to hang on long enough to see pictures of her newest great grandson last week before she started slipping down hill...

My only regret is that i didnt have the presence of mind to sit down and talk with her about her past when she was at an age where she could have had rational conversations about it.

she was born in 1914, a mere 5 months after an assassins bullet started what would become one of the most futile displays of human barbarism in all of mankind's history.

When she was born, cars were still new inventions, air travel was almost unheard of, indoor plumbing and electricity was rare in most of the homes of the rural south.

Imagine if you will, seeing with your own eyes the newspaper headlines from the last 94 years?

the horror of reading about Pearl Harbor, watching your brothers and neighbors and your spouse go off to war, some to come back severely scarred...

the amazement of the first time having a working toilet in your house... having electricity in your house for the first time... seeing a television for the first time... flying in an airplane for the first time... seeing man walk on the moon... and countless other events that mush have been staggering to witness...

I can only hope that her life made many other's lives better... i know that she did for me... truly, the world will be worse off without her around... but thankfully, her pain will soon be over and she will be going home.

if any of you have older relatives, take some time to go and just talk with them... ask the about their past... it might not be much longer before they are unable to tell their tales... dont wait until it is too late to find out about all the wonderful things that your ancestors did and saw.

arctictom · Post by **arctictom** » Tue Feb 03, 2009 5:51 am

Sorry for your grand mothers decline, always enjoyed my grand parents stories of early Alaska 1900 to 1945, wonderful.

Dub_James · Post by **Dub_James** » Tue Feb 03, 2009 6:00 am

We can only hope to have that rich and long a life, it's something to be cherished.

I hope the going is as easy as such things can be.

mekender · Post by **mekender** » Tue Feb 03, 2009 6:47 am

Dub_James wrote:We can only hope to have that rich and long a life, it's something to be cherished.

I hope the going is as easy as such things can be.

I am comforted by knowing that when it finally is her time to go home, all of her friends and family will be there... that no one will be surprised that she showed up early, nor will they be impatiently waiting for her because she is running late...

Jered · Post by **Jered** » Tue Feb 03, 2009 7:13 am

Sorry for your loss.

A couple weeks ago was when my grandfather passed three years ago. He had the damndest stories. And he taught me to play Pinochle.

Rich Jordan · Post by **Rich Jordan** » Tue Feb 03, 2009 9:23 pm

Condolences on your loss, and congratulations too on having a Grandma who led such a life.

mekender · Post by **mekender** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 4:18 am

she passed away a few hours ago... im not as sad as i figured i would be.... im more glad that i got to know her and love her.

MiddleAgedKen · Post by **MiddleAgedKen** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 4:02 pm

I'm sorry for your loss, mekender.

Post by **308Mike** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 5:55 am

mekender wrote:she passed away a few hours ago... im not as sad as i figured i would be.... im more glad that i got to know her and love her.

We ALL must pass through that gate, the only difference is how and when. Some sooner than others, but NO ONE gets to stay. Take heart in the knowledge you got to know her and love her and she was able to relay FIRST HAND accounts of what she experienced - something lost to so many generations.

It would have been nice to get her recollection written down on paper, even better yet video taped so you'd have her voice and inflections too.

I have some of my grandfather's belongings he brought back from China (BEFORE WWII), but without the stories, they're just pieces of furniture and other stuff - otherwise they could be almost priceless (especially as far as the family goes).

I feel for you. I have no more living grandparents, and only my mom is still with us and fading fast. There's a reason so many cultures revere their elders, it's too bad our's doesn't do a much better job of it.

I'll say a prayer for her tonight. God bless, and God speed.

EDIT: I edited the tile to share with a few more people, hope you don't mind.

Frankingun · Post by **Frankingun** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 2:40 am

Sorry for your loss. All of my grandparents have been gone for years.

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94 years - The Passing of a Lifetime

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