Your Grandmother

Matilda (or whatever we decide to name you),


We're going to bury your grandmother tomorrow. I know how bad my memory is and how I usually don't like to talk about these things, so in my moment of weakness, I wanted to tell you a little bit about her before I forget. She was a sweet lady who loved her family, especially me, her parents, and your Papa Rick. Her world seemed to revolve around us. I can remember many football practices and baseball practices that ended late at night. She was there for every one of them. I'll never forget when she and Papa Rick dropped me off at college for the first time. Papa told me that she cried the whole way home.

She loved her church and Sunday School class. When she started to loose her memory, my Dad would come home from work on a Tuesday or a Friday and find her sitting in her Sunday dress, ready to go Church. It was obvious where her thoughts were.

She loved children. I didn't know her then, but when she was in her 20's, she worked for a bus ministry that went around to poor neighborhoods to visit children on Saturdays then picked them up on Sundays to take them to church. After that, she worked in the 5th grade Sunday School class for 10 years. There is no telling how many lives she touched through those ministries. If you see a picture of her and she's smiling, she probably has a kid in her arms.

She was a huge Florida Gator fan. She and Papa went to games down in Gainesville from the time they started dating. If a game was on late, and Papa went to bed, she would still stay up to see her Gators. And it didn't matter if it was football, basketball, or thumbwrestling. If it was on, she was rooting for those Gators.

She didn't talk much, but when she did, you knew it was something worth listening to. She was a great cook. She was a servant. She was a strong worker. She loved her grand children (your cousins). And she loved you. I remember the last time I saw her smile, was when we told her I wanted to name you Matilda. I wish she could have seen you. I wouldn't have been able to get you out of her arms.

There were hundreds there tonight at her viewing, to honor her life. She was loved by so many people.