Granny's Gone

The past couple weeks have been a little harried. We found out on the 5th that my Granny didn't have much longer to live. She was 85 years old and her heart valve was leaking, along with one side of the heart being atrophied and the other swollen. Additionally, one of her kidneys had shut down. So, at the last minute we had a change of plans for the weekend. Scott's parents were supposed to come visit from the Hampton Roads area, but Hurricane Hannah was coming through and they decided to stay home. So, we decided to drive to Roanoke for the weekend so see Granny before she passed on.

It was great to see all of my Aunts again, but Granny sure was pitiful. She was able to talk very little and really couldn't keep any food or water down, so we knew her time was limited. The Hospice doctors and nurses were very helpful to my Mom and my Aunts in preparing for the last days. We left Sunday afternoon and headed home, knowing we would never see her alive again.

Sure enough, Monday morning, Mom called and said Granny had passed at 2:20 that morning. She went very quietly in her sleep, with one last deep breath. My Aunt Brenda was there with her.

So, we packed up our bags again, put Dixie back in the Kennel, and headed back to Roanoke for the visitation and funeral. The visitation was at Oakey's Funeral Home. The funeral home made Granny look 10 years younger. She looked so good that we just expected her to sit right up and talk to us. Many of Granny's brother, sisters, cousins and other relatives were there to show their love and support. I hadn't seen them for many years, so it was great to visit with them all again, although it was under sad circumstances. My Dad drove up for funeral and all of my x-uncles came for the visitation too. Granny loved all the x's and she always opened her home to them at Thanksgiving and such. It meant a lot to us that they all drove 3 hours to be there.

We had a graveside service for her at the family cemetery in Algoma, on Bent Mountain. This cemetery has many generations of Holts and Mullins buried there. Granny's Mother and Father, Granny's mother's parents and grandparents are all buried there. Along with many of her brothers and sisters that have passed on.

Although it was a sad time, it was good to see so many of our close and distant family members. I never knew I had so many cousins - mostly 2nd and 3rd cousins from up on the mountain and even some double cousins (yes- my Granny and her oldest brother married siblings from the same family. So, if you're not confused yet, my grandfather's sister Muriel, married Granny's brother Alger.) And of course all of my first cousins that I grew up with were there too. Scott and I really enjoyed visiting with Granny's youngest brother, Sammy. He reminds me so much of my Great-Grandaddy Holt. His face, his hair and the way he tells witty stories from when he was younger, growing up on the mountain, all remind me of Great-Grandaddy Holt. He was such a neat man. He could widdle anything out of gords or wood or whatever. He piped in spring water from the creek across the road from his house into his fish house. He would catch trout from the creek and keep them in his fish house. He had them for years and they would eat right out of his hand!

I think the most difficult part was saying Good-bye to Granny on Sunday. I knew she wasn't really all there, but still I knew I would never see her alive again. It was especially sad for me because Granny and I spent a lot of time together when I was younger. She watched me during the day, until I went to Kindergarten, and then everyday after school I took the bus to Granny's house, until we moved when I was in 4th grade. But, I have many fond memories of her to carry me through the years, and we ended up bringing back several remembrances of her such as beautiful Mums from the graveside service, a Peace Lilly and dish plant that were sent to the funeral home, her Cameo necklace and some other jewelery and furniture.

Here are some family photos from the gathering at Sammy and Joyce's church after the funeral. Here you'll see all of my Aunts and first cousins plus Granny's living brothers and sisters. But, we weren't able to get all the 2nd, 3rd and double cousins in there - I don't think we'd all fit in one photo! :-)