1. Kay Kids March 2002 Grandma Southworth Memorial Service
The call from Dad came as a bit of a shock. Grandma had lived a long time and her health hadn’t been the best. The recent bout with Grandma having difficulty breathing prepared us somewhat for the news that she was gone. Dad called on Saturday the 23rd. We packed up the car, kids, clothes and headed to New York. The 10 hour drive was long, but I was glad we could go and be with the family. Philip got a week off from work.
Grandma’s dying was perfect in it’s time . Mom had one more week of work at the Hallmark store until she was to retire. Grandma had just talked to Uncle Bill the day before. Mom had a good day where Grandma was able to “show her love.”
Uncle Bill arrived on Monday. Mom, Uncle Bill and I went over to Sharon Health Care and packed up all of Grandma’s belongings. It’s amazing how much will fit in half of a room. We spoke with some people who knew Grandma - Mrs. Zenneda Place, who was a long time friend, asked for a memento of Grandma. I gave her a stuffed chicken/hen. She liked it.
Memorial Service
Grandma was quite the character. As we were planning the memorial service we decided to go with a “theme.” Grandma wore many hats - literally! We collected ten hats that belonged to her that she wore frequently. Nicholas came up with the idea of placing some of her hats in the window sills of the church for the memorial service. Mom found pictures of Grandma wearing her hats to go along with some of the hats. It was beautiful!
Reverend Gary Witt gave such a humorous and accurate eulogy for Grandma. He remembered the knitted “booties” with the seam down the middle, hug-um and squeeze-um attorney’s at law, scrapbooks, and many other things that made Grandma grandma.
After the service there was a reception in the back. I took the flower arrangement from the altar - consisting of carnations - and proceeded to hand flowers to various people. Grandma was known to share her flowers.
After the reception we all donned a Grandma hat.
Kate, Uncle Bill, Ken, Uncle Charlie, Me, Richard, Mom