My Nana

I had Nana to love for 33 years....

We had the benefit of knowing and loving Nana as children, where our memories were of our summer camping trips.  She and Wally always had the luxury tent with the cots, but she was never afraid to get her hands dirty and helped shuck corn and roast marshmallows. She loved coming to watch our ball games and dance recitals, preferring the ballet routines over the tap or jazz. Our cousin Tommy nicknamed her and Wally Banana and Walnut -- and it stuck.  It was things like this that made our relationship fun-loving and easy. 

We had the benefit of knowing her as young adults, when we started spending more quality time over scrabble and rummy. We’d help her with her crossword puzzles and cryptoquips and watch her paint her nails. We’d laugh at the way she’d say “bottle” and “drawer”.  Even though our army life always kept us living far away, she was always there for important events like graduations and weddings.

It wasn’t until we were adults that we truly realized how much we appreciated the woman that she was.  As we observed her ways later in life a great amount of respect and appreciation bloomed.  Our Nana truly exemplified dignity, integrity, class and grace. She was always concerned about putting on her best face (or hairdo) because she grew up in a time when you wore white gloves to the grocery store.  This was truly displayed when she created her Wii character and chose the eyes with the blue eyeshadow and the mouth with the lipstick -- appearances are important. We loved her candor and her blunt way of saying things. Because of her classy demeanor, she could get away with really telling it like it is.  During each of our pregnancies, she was not shy about telling each of us that she really, really wanted a great-granddaughter. After 4 great-grandsons, she passed away knowing that Kim was carrying her first great-granddaughter, and was disappointed that she wouldn’t get a chance to meet and hold her.

Above all, however, we had such admiration for her strength and resolve. At the age of 72 Nana was diagnosed with breast cancer. Living out of state, we did not see her go through the treatments and radiation. She successfully overcame the disease and years later she would overcome loss -- the tragic and unexpected loss of a grandson, the loss of her husband of 25 years, and the loss of her daughter to cancer. She was a survivor, resilient.  When we were around, we never heard her complain or ponder why these things happened.  Instead she would put her best foot forward and face each of these trials with a renewed strength.  Even in these past few months, every phone conversation would be about how we were doing, how our kids were doing, and then she’d make sure to get off the phone so she wouldn’t run up our phone bills.

As my sisters and I sat around and tried to put the essence of Nana into words, it was just about impossible.  At the end of the day, she was just our grandmother, a constant rock full of support and love through every facet of our life.  Near or far we always felt loved, always felt like she was proud of us, and always felt like no time passed between visits.  It’s a sad day as the reality sinks in that we are now the second generation of women in this family as the last of our grandmothers has left us.  But the things we take away from looking up with this great lady will be passed on for our generations to come.  She was truly a gem- a beautiful representative of times past and quiet strength.  She will be missed, but certainly not forgotten.  

Nana, we love you and miss you and we will make sure to always put our best foot forward, march on, and triumph through everything that comes our way, just as you taught us to.  Thank you for leaving a legacy that we’re proud to pass on to generations to come.

Nana's Eulogy, written with Kim and Angie