seem irreverent to share this here, but this is effectively our ongoing
newsletter, and lots of the most important people in our lives read
this, so it would be even stranger to make no mention of this than it is
to share it.
Her name was Joanne. Ann and I visited her when we were in the midwest
this summer, where she lived just south of Chicago, at a home in South
Holland, near relatives. I had not seen her for awhile. Her husband, my
grandfather, died a couple of years ago now, and she'll be buried next
to him.
She was very kind, and a nurse, and an amazing woman. When I lived in
Chicago in the 90s I would visit them sometimes, and once I brought her
a small television with a device called WebTV, which connected to the
internet through the telephone. She immediately started browsing the web
and sending email. I have honestly never seen anyone pick up internet
technology as fast as she did, and she was in her eighties at the time.
She fell recently, and needed surgery, from which she never regained
consciousness. She was 91. The obituary my uncle wrote for her reads in
part, "She enhanced her husband's Christian ministry with her invaluable
wisdom and support. Her Christ-likeness blessed all who knew her."
1 comment:
Chris, I'm deeply sorry for your loss. I'm sure this is something you and Ann did your best to prepare for - the possibility that someone you know and love might pass on while you were away - but such times and events are never easy.
The lines from her obituary resonated with me in the light of your previous entry on the disparity of wealth and poverty. It sounds as though your grandmother was someone who had a profound influence on her family, friends, and community. And, in all honest truth, isn't that all we can really be - influential? The rest - be it donating food, money, clothing, or volunteering one's time, or even ruminating on the immoral oppression of the poor by the wealthy - is simply how each person chooses to exert said influence. I suppose what I'm saying is that we each always do the best we can to be the best we can.
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