Nanny Nona

I just wanted to take a minute and blog about a great woman who I am going to miss terribly, my Grandma, Nanny Nona. She passed away on the evening of February 13th 2009. She was loved and respected by many. All who knew her always had good things to say about her. She was a great example to all of her family, which she had a lot of. She had seven children, over 30 grandchildren, over 90 great-grandchildren, and 2 great-great-grandchildren (so far). Nanny loved all of us and always welcomed us at her house. The picture above is a four generation picture. In the back is my mom, Lorraine, Up front is Nanny Nona, Me and Tailynne

I have so many wonderful memories of Nanny. I have multiple memories of times I got to spend at her house. Any time we went to her house she would always have something freshly baked. Two of my favorite items that she made were her home made rolls and her chocolate cake that she made from scratch. Another thing that she made, and introduced me to, was apple butter, which she made from the apples she grew in her yard. I remember walking through her yard and picking the apples from her many trees. Whenever we left her house during the summer she would make sure that we took a bag of freshly picked apples.

Another loved activity at her house was wading in the canal out front. Nanny always kept a drawer full of shorts in a variety of sizes, so if we forgot our own we wouldn’t miss out on wading. There is one time in particular that I remember going wading and Nanny sat on the bridge with her feet in the water. After I got tired of wading I remember sitting by her on the bridge with my feet dangling in the water and talking about all the important things of life. I would not trade those times for the world.

While I was growing up we would always look forward to going to spend the night at Nanny’s house. We only lived a little over an hour from her (which sometimes felt like forever). She would always have a fun activity for us to do, when I was younger she would teach us to paint, she was an amazing painter, then when I got a little older we would play canasta or another card game late into the night, or sometimes we would just sit and talk. There were a few Christmases that I got to stay at Nanny’s house. Once she had my whole family stayed with her. It was fun for me as a little girl sleeping right by Nanny’s bed waiting for Santa to come visit us. When I was about 15 I got to spend a Christmas with Nanny. It was something that my whole family looked forward too. Each year one of my siblings would get to go and deliver the gifts to Nanny and spend Christmas day with her. That year for Christmas, she gave me a necklace that she got while she was on her mission, before I was ever born. I loved the necklace; she said someone made it for her while she was on her mission. I still to this day love and treasure that necklace, and I always will. The last time that I spent a Christmas with Nanny was just a few years ago. Thom and I were married and living in Alamosa, but Thom had to work the night shift so I went to spend Christmas with her. It was nice to not have to have to be alone on Christmas, but it was even better to spend time with Nanny and Toby (her son). I always love to listen to them tell stories about my ancestors.

Nanny was always a great example to me and the rest of her grandkids. She raised a very strong family. In fact out of 17 grandsons, 16 served missions. I think that a lot of that has to do with her example. As long as I remember, Nanny always served in the church. The calling that I remember her serving as was the Relief Society President; she served there for a long time. Nanny was always visiting those in need and stopping by to check on those who she was prompted to visit. One very important thing that I learned from her was to love everyone. She took every opportunity she could to tell others her testimony of Jesus Christ.

Nanny was 92 years old when she passed away. She had spent more of her time single then the time she was married. Her husband Troy died when my mom was 16 years old, but Nanny always told us stories about him so I really felt like I knew him. I am so glad that Nanny is reunited with her husband Troy. I know that she missed him terribly and was so excited to join him. I believe that they spent a great Valentine’s Day together. I know that she was also welcomed in Heaven by others who left this life before her, including one of her daughters , a son-in-law, a great-grandson, and many others. I am sure it was a very happy reunion on Friday night. So though it will be hard for those of us left behind, I am sure that she is very happy.
I love you and will miss you so much Nanny.