Grandmother Litres

 Right in the middle of finals week, Mike got a call from his parents and they told us his grandma had passed away.  She'd struggled with her health for a long time, and was diagnosed with Alzheimer's about a year ago.  I'm grateful that we have the gospel, and can view death as a blessing and the start of the next great adventure! 

She was a neat lady!  On top of being the mother of 5 children, she earned her PhD, was a teacher, worked for the US Department of Transportation, and was a professional clown!  Sir Laffs-A-Lot brought a lot of joy to children!  She was always giving gifts and thinking of others.  She was also a very crafty lady, and a talented painter!

I asked Mike what some of his favorite memories were with her and he came up with a few:  When he was little, he had to be hospitalized for what turned out to be Giardia, and Sir Laffs-A-Lot came to the hospital to put on a show for him and the other kids.  He also remembers staying out all night with her when Harry Potter Book 5 came out so they could be the first to get a copy! 

One thing I loved about her was every time we went to visit she would say to me, "How's your husband?  Oh, he's such a rotten kid.  Takes after his Grandma (wink)!"  And then she'd tell me, "If he ever gives you any trouble, you come see me.  I'll take care it!"

She donated her body to the University of Utah's Medical school, so there was a memorial for her  instead of a funeral.   The upside to having a memorial, is that you can wait as long as you want to have it, so they held it over Memorial Day Weekend, which worked out perfectly for us.  It was the only weekend Mike had free between the end of finals and the beginning of his summer internship, so we were very lucky to be able to drive up to Utah for a few days. 

It was a beautiful memorial.  Each of the kids got up and told stories about their Mom.  You wouldn't believe the trouble those kids got into living in the middle of nowhere in Florida. 

I love how all the men are barefoot in the next picture.  It's so Trowbridge.

 

 

 

 

 

Toby, Nola, Jack, Julie, and Tom

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Face painting!  I love Kingsley's villain mustache!

It was so wonderful to be surrounded by family to honor the memory of Grandmother.  We'll miss her for now, but know that we'll see her again!