Thursday, May 12, 2011

A Class Act


Last night my sweet Grandmother, Julie Memmott, passed away. She was one of the loveliest people I have had in my life.  As we often do when a loved one passes on I started reminiscing about all the memories and wonderful times I shared with her.  My earliest memory of her is  her driving me past the hospital that I was born in.  It was just down the road from her home and she told me about that day and how she was there and saw me born.  That is really amazing considering it was 1963.  She pointed out the window of the room where I was born in the hospital and told me my birth was one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen.  She told me this story every time I would come to visit her and I never grew tired of it.

Some other fond memories:

She had the longest telephone chord I have ever seen.  She could cover her entire upstairs with that phone.

She loved pretty things.

Fresh peaches in the summer at her house that were amazing.

She would say "Pardon my green gloves."

She had the really expensive, fancy jelly fruit slice candies and she would get the box down from a hidden spot and share.

She would sing "I'm just a little petunia in an onion patch".  She would sing this as if she was the petunia crying her eyes out.  It was hysterical.

She had a great laugh.

She loved Keds and had them in every color.

She gave great arm tickles.

I loved to go shopping in SLC with her.  It was a day of shopping then out to lunch.  I will never forget the time when I was in college and I went to visit her.  She drove to the ZCMI Center and parked in the parking structure.  When she pulled into the space and hit the cement pillar she threw the car in park and yelled we're here now lets go shop.

As a young woman she took me to meet Ardeth Kapp and had her sign a book for me.

She always encouraged me to practice the piano.  She would say, "Some day you will live in a place where no one else can play the piano at church and they will need you."  I didn't think that was possible but it did happen and I played.

She put butter on vegetables in very large amounts.

She had beautiful hands.

She made me feel like I surely must be the grandchild she loved the most.

She had a sign in her house that read' "Choose you this day whom ye will serve:..but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."  And she lived it!

I love her and am blessed beyond measure to have her for my Grandmother.

3 comments:

Julianna said...

Lovely.

I laughed at the phone cord...it was so true!!! And keds, she was wearing them to the end.

Jamie said...

I'm at work and crying after reading this.
Thank you for posting!
I will always cherish meeting Ardeth Kapp, Grandma was so excited to take me to meet her.

I miss the way she kissed my cheeks, Shared those yummy jelly candies, watching her knit, her cute keds, sharing her grapefruit juice in the morning and especially her phone calls these past years.
I miss her!
xoxoxo

Shellie said...

I loved reading all these memories! It helped me not only remember more recent good times with grandma but all of the memories I have of years past. What an amazing lady she was for sure.

It was great to see you last week :)