Family Passing

Well, just got back into town after a 9 day trip to Sarasota Florida. I was just there over the Xmas break to see my grandmother whom has lived in that area since 1973. She had just been diagnosed with leukemia at age 87. Turns out that it was aggressive and was only given a few days to live her life. She passed January 5th very peacefully with family present. I found out early the 6th as I was replacing some bathtub/shower plumbing in a late 1800's farm house in Boulder and did not get home until 1am. I made some plane reservations and jumped on a Southwest flight by 3pm Sunday. I then proceeded to spend the last week plus helping my father go through her apartment and pack/ship/etc her stuff as necessary. I was able to contact local Boy Scout Troop 50 to donate some furniture items too for their garage sale--this sale helps scouts attend summer camps like Philmont. She would have been happy about this as her two sons were scouts and there now are three grandsons with their Eagle badges. I also had to fix her car so we had a vehicle to run errands in during the week--this required a new ignition coil, wipers, and a front motor mount--a few hours of running to Car Qwest and we were on the road again. Other than that her vehicle was in great shape--a 94 Buick Regal with only 52K of miles on it! Some misc stuff was also donated to Goodwill. The week was long and tiring but I was glad to be there to help the family. At the end my father handed me a silver dollar of my grandma's that was on my birth date--it was quite the reward for being there all week and knowing she is watching over us now. The memorial service will be held in Virginia in a week or so. There was also a small service in the retirement community for her local friends and church while we were there. Several family members also were there to help including my Dad's sister, his brother's wife (Steve was in Tanzania on safari during all of this) and my brother who actually lives locally attending med school. Before we left we were able to have dinner with Betty and Also Gerri/Bob--both life long friends of my grandmothers. The time was special and I will never forget the trips to Siesta Key Beach all these years--enjoying the water, playing in the white sands, fishing off the boat, and eating lots of seafood at local places like The Oyster Bar and Phillipe Creek. You will be missed by all. Updates with photos soon....