Grandma Lucille

My dad and my grandmother, 1949

Last night my sweet Grandma Lucille passed away.  Our family is feeling sorrow as well as joy.  She has been in pain and not really "there" for so many years.  She and her husband have been separated from each other since well before he died.  She is now free from pain and reunited with so many loved ones who have gone before  her.  (And I would bet just about anything that the first thing Grandpa said to her is "What took you so long?")  But those of us left behind will miss her dearly.

My grandmother was a fantastic woman.  She had a sense of humor that would never quit.  She always seemed to have a positive attitude and a smile on her face.  She loved to laugh.  Which is good, because Grandpa teased her mercilessly.  She loved it, and would tease him right back.  Several years ago she wrote down her life story.  I am so glad she did.  I love reading about her life.  One thing she mentions is how she would get fits of the giggles that just wouldn't stop.  One time when she was young, she got the giggles at school.  The teacher gave her a whack across her palm, and that still didn't stop the giggles.  She said what she was thinking - you never had to guess.  The first time Grandpa kissed her, she responded by saying "Well, is that all?"  He responded by saying "No, do you want more?"  Haha!  I remember sitting in a relative's funeral one time.  When the time came for the musical number, the pianist accidentally dropped a hymn book on the piano keys, making a loud noise.  Grandma leaned over to me and said "They'd better be careful - they'll wake the dead!"  For better or worse, she passed on that trait of giggling to me and I had a hard time not laughing.  Another time at a wedding, the bride was taking a little long to come into the sealing room.  We'd been waiting for quite a while.  She leaned over to Aunt Jane and muttered "Can't they just wheel her in here?"  She said it very quietly (we were in the temple, after all!), but Jane, Shaye and I all heard her and lost it.  That "I'm trying not to laugh and trying not to laugh is making me laugh harder" giggle.  Everyone else was staring at us and we just Could. Not. Stop!  I remember my dad looking over at us with a puzzled expression, and when I pointed at his mother he seemed to nod like that explained everything.  Haha!

I will always treasure the memories I have of driving her to see my grandfather when he was in a nursing home.  Grandma never did learn how to drive, and since I was home with just Big sister and lived so close to grandma at the time, I would drive her to see  her husband once a week.  She always had a few thing to take to Grandpa to make him more comfortable.  I tried to have music playing in the car that she would enjoy, usually the Tabernacle Choir.  She would sing along, and I loved listening to her harmonize.  She would give me encouragement on the job I was doing as a young mother.  I loved watching her interact with Grandpa.  He was senile, but the teasing was still there.  He would tease her, or get a little ornery, and she'd give it right back.  Usually with a laugh.  Then she would ask me to remind her next time that she needed to tell the staff to get him a haircut, or that she needed to bring a specific treat for him.  I know it was hard for her to be separated from him so.  On my wedding day, the advice she gave me was to "Stay in love."  She certainly did stay in love.  Concerning her wedding day, she said this:  "The sweetest kiss I've ever had was the one given me over the alter in the Sealing Room after we were pronounced husband and wife."  I'm sure that she and Grandpa are overjoyed to be together again.  I love you, Grandma.  God be with you 'till we meet again.