At around 11:30pm CST Friday night, my last remaining grandparent was released from the curse of the Law and received her sleep in Christ.

The earliest memory I can summon is from the house on Seventh Street in Hiawatha. The house had no ductwork, so the vents merely connected the other rooms in the house. This particular vent was in the floor. At night the room where I slept was completely dark except for the glow from the vent. I could put my ear up to the vent and listen, but I would have been in so much trouble. :)

I then remember the house on Second Street, the last house where Grandma and Grandpa stayed until Grandpa passed away from emphysema. Grandpa maintained the martin house, white metal with green trim and hoisted up on a pole like a flag. They had a garden for a while. Outside they hung long wind chimes where I frequently succumbed to the temptation of knocking them around on purpose. :) It was in this house where I saw Grandma in the kitchen the most, making the family hot potato salad (now passed to Mom, thanks Grandma :) ), or the pumpkin pie that the men loved to brag about, baked with the not-so-secret ingredient of brandy. The strangest thing I remember from there is the standalone fan. Perched on a one-foot pedestal, the metal cage barely protected fingers from the twin opposing plastic scimitars.

It was fun staying there at Christmas because her large family (5 children who had families of their own) meant lots of presents. We’d stay up to watch the Christmas Mass from the Vatican. The adults played 10-point pitch, and my cousins and I played War with what must have been ten decks of cards.

As she aged Grandma moved into a single apartment and then into an assisted living apartment, where we have pictures of her with the twins. We had plans to visit her at the end of April, but it wasn’t meant to be. My parents showed her the pictures and movies I had made available online, and I’d call once in a while. I spoke with her Thursday afternoon, and in her drift in and out of sleep she made sure to mention that she loved me, my wife, and the twins. I could almost hear the warm smile. I thanked her for all she had done to support our far-flung family and thanked her for staying in the faith. Grandma was unshakeable in her faith until the end, and when her body left nothing else for her to do, she prayed. She lived one week shy of 89 years and lived beyond Grandpa 22 years.

1 Corinthians 15:20-23
But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.

Revelation 21:3-4
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”