In honor of my grandmother's 95th birthday, I am dedicating this post to highlights of her life.
Grandma's 90th birthday
Grandma is the oldest of six children. She has four younger brothers and a younger sister. For many years, she lived next door to her parents, my great-grandparents. When my family lived in Wyoming, we lived on the other side of them, making three houses in a row for our family. In fact, Grandma still lives in the same house they moved into when my dad was in 5th grade. (He is now 71.)
Back row: Grandma, Glenn, Ira, Gene
Front row: Sharon, Great-Grandma, Great-Grandpa, Jerry
My grandmother grew up in a small town in Wyoming. One day she was at the drug store in town with a friend when two young men walked in. One of them was my grandfather. He and his friend were on their way from Colorado to Alaska. Neither of them ever made it to Alaska. They both married and settled down with the girls they met in the drug store that day. Who knew stopping for a soda could change your life?
When Grandma and Grandpa married the closest bishop lived in a town 30 miles away, where he was a doctor. Instead of saying their vows over an altar in a church, they were married over an exam table at his office. My dad is the second of their three children.
Grandpa and Grandma
Grandma was a member of the LDS Church but Grandpa was not when they married. However, he attended church meetings regularly with her and eventually joined the Church. At the time, each ward or branch was responsible for raising money to assist with the construction of their meetinghouse. Grandma remembers preparing and serving meals to the community to raise their allotted funds. When their building was completed, Elder Ezra Taft Benson came to town for the dedication.
After nearly a century of living, she has seen many changes in technological advances. Since Grandma began working at age 12. She worked as a secretary for as long as I can remember, retiring at the age of 84. One of her favorite inventions was the electric typewriter. As a secretary, that typewriter was her greatest tool. I remember visiting her at work when I was young. I don't know if I have ever heard anyone type so fast! I remember watching in awe as her fingers danced across the keyboard. I was very impressed that she never seemed to make any mistakes because back in those days fixing mistakes was much harder than it is now on the computer.
One of Grandma's other favorite innovations is indoor plumbing. She also enjoys her modern refrigerator. When she was born, they had an ice box rather than a refrigerator. They had to purchase blocks of ice every week or so to keep their food cold. In addition, the washing machine and clothes dryer that replaced her old washboard and ringer washer and the clothes line in the backyard were great blessings.
Grandma has always been a great example of activity in the Church and service to others. She was recently interviewed for the ward newsletter and gave the following advice: "Stay active! Get into good habits, so that when Sunday comes, it's not a question of where you are going!"
Happy birthday, Grandma! We wish we were there to help you celebrate.
