Today, my third grandparent passed away after a long struggle with a variety of health issues. Doris Holgate was my maternal grandmother, and the last of my mothers parents. It’s tough for my mom – not only losing her last parent – but also because they had a very close bond, especially after my grandfather passed away back in 2006. In the last year of her life, Doris’ health took a turn for the worse after she had some issues with her Dick Cheney Pacemaker/Defibrillator which had to be re-implanted.
My mom would tell me often to call and send her messages via the Presto machine, and I’m glad I did. I am also glad that in the last 10 days of her life, I was able to visit her for her birthday as a surprise, and got to watch an afternoon of Family Feud and enjoy some BBQ. With both my grandpas, I was not able to make it to see them “one last time” and even though it was not my intent for my last visit to be the “last visit”, I have learned that with your parents and grandparents, it is better to take the time to visit them since you do not know when you will get to see them again..If ever.
I will always remember my Grandma Doris for her love of cooking. She used to make sure that I was well fed when I visited – whether it be a dessert or a steak or a French Dip, she always had something for me to eat. In later years, she would make sure she gave me some money to get myself something from Outback since she was no longer able to make a big meal. I also owe her my love of game shows. No one else in the family could sit there and recite the current state of The Price is Right or other game show like she could. One of the things I cherish about our last visit was that we watched one of her favorites together.
One final thing I will remember about Grandma was that she could spin a yarn! She always would tell great stories from her days at Buffums or MGM or Posey. She also would tell stories about relatives who I remember as a kid, but sadly had already passed away. It was a way for me to keep their memories alive as well.
We will have a funeral at the end of the month and then sometime in July it will be back up to Paradise to put her in the wall with grandpa. They are already re-united in Spirit (confirmed by the sightings of my grandpa in the days before her death), but now their ashes will be together.
You may be gone from this Earth and on to whatever is next, but you are always in my heart.