Calling all
Genea-Musings Fans:
It's Saturday Night again -
time for some
more Genealogy Fun!!
Here is our assignment from Randy Seaver of Genea-Musings:
1) What memories do you have of family sickness
or death? Tell us about one or more of them and how the family dealt with
it.
Here’s mine:
Grandfather, Tom J. Johnston
The first death that I was aware of was my grandfather, Tom J Johnston’s in 1973.
I remember my mother getting a call from my grandmother and my parents going
over to the house. I was left to watch over my five younger brothers and
sisters. I was between freshman and sophomore in college.
I somehow remember that we were cleaning up the yard for
company we were going to have that weekend, but that was all canceled. The
funeral was on Friday at the Oak Park Hills Chapel. My two youngest sisters did
not attend and perhaps Mrs. Potter watched them. We were told it would be a
closed casket, but when we got there, it was open. That was the first person I
ever saw who was dead. Actually, he looked okay. Normally he was a bit gruff
and grumpy around us, but look peaceful and calm.
From the service we rode in limousines to the Oakmont
Memorial Park. I was sitting on a jump seat. I don’t remember much about the
services. This was before the genealogy bug got me. I probably cried, but I do
that easily at sad things.
After the graveside services everyone went back to my
grandmother’s house, where there was lots of food. I saw my mom’s cousins, who
we hardly ever saw. My dad’s aunts came, and Aunt June brought a lemon meringue
pie – it was the best I ever tasted!
Grandmother, Anna M. (Sullivan) Hork
We got the word that our Nana died on 14 February 1979. We were all at the
house, where my parents were hosting a valentine’s day party. Dad was called to
the phone and when he got off, he told us the news. She had been living in a
rest home for several years and was in declining health.
The funeral was held at her church, St. Matthew’s in San
Mateo. There was no cemetery gathering as her body was shipped to Los Angeles
so she was buried next to my grandfather, William C Hork at the Los Angeles
National Cemetery. They hadn’t lived together since before 1940, but since they
were never divorced, she could be buried there for free.
After the funeral mass at the church, my aunt and uncle, Virginia
and Johnny Gertridge, hosted the gathering, which was basically an Irish wake--lots
of laughter, story-telling, and booze.
Grandmother, Pansy Louise (Lancaster) Johnston
My grandmother, Mam-ma, lived to one month short of 100 years. At the end, her
kidneys gave out and hospice was called to see to the final days. She
was living in an assisted care facility and we visited often. Once hospice was
there, we took turns staying with her. She was in pain and then kind of out of
it from the morphine. It was hard watching her die. There was no storytelling;
she was silent. I can’t remember the details of the days—my sisters probably
have better memories of it. It wasn’t pleasant and we had difficulty with the nurses, but it was a relief at the end. The
funeral director was so nice to us. We had the memorial at the funeral home and
then caravanned to the cemetery where she was buried next to our grandfather,
Tom.
At the cemetery, my sister had checked out the site and
discovered a tree had grown where our grandmother was to be buried. So they had
to dig out my grandfather, make the hole deeper, and then return him so my
grandmother could be put on top. I’m sure they were gritting their teeth. My
grandparents paid about $800 for the gravesite plots back in the mid-60s, that
today would be ten times that amount.
We had the gathering at Zio Fredo’s restaurant, which is
just down the street from the cemetery. They put out a nice buffet spread and
we were pleased by the people who joined us. I really appreciate my sister who took
care of all of the arrangements.
Someday, I’ll write about my parents’ and husband’s parents’ deaths.
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Your family appears to have been much more involved and communicative than mine. I think that's a good thing.
ReplyDeleteI agree.
DeleteYour memories are much more family affairs. My family was so small that funerals were much more sedate.
ReplyDeleteI think that is easier when one has a large family and everyone still lived close by.
Delete