Grandma's Passing

It's hard to know where to start when your Grandma passes away.

We have known for awhile that Grandma wouldn't be with us much longer. She has been sick since May, and we knew it was just a matter of time.

Grandma passed away last Wednesday, and Monday was her funeral. Thankfully, I was able to fly out for it. Ben took off work so I didn't have to take kids, which was wonderful. I flew into SLC where I met my sisters Stephanie and Michelle, and Michelle's daughter Freya. We drove up to Blackfoot.

I'll try to break this up into segments instead of one long post. Here are some pictures of the viewing, which was held on Sunday night. The line wrapped around and around- so many people came to pay their respect to Grandma.

 Here is my Grandpa:

 He was incredibly stoic the entire night. He stood for over two hours- I don't think he sat down the whole time. He is very weak, but it was obvious he wanted to do right by Grandma. When I first saw him, I thought he looked healthy- but incredibly sad. The loss of his wife of 67 years was/is very hard on him- as I am sure we can all understand.

Grandma and Grandpa celebrated their 67th wedding anniversary the day before she died. Grandma really wanted to make it until that milestone. My Aunt Janet said that on the 23rd, their anniversary and the day before she died, they held hands all day long.

Grandma and Grandpa were always together- they did everything together. Apparently grandma's dad did not approve of their marriage, and he said they would only last for 2 years. Obviously that didn't turn out! They were the sweetest couple. According to my mom and aunt, at the end, grandma wasn't as nice as one would maybe like (she started to have a little bit of dementia and made a lot of false accusations). Their kids thought it would be best for her to go to a nursing home- in part for Grandpa's safety. Grandpa refused. Even though Grandma had started being a little abusive, he couldn't stand the thought of having her away from him. He was constantly right by her side through everything. Now he says he will be right behind her in passing. I don't doubt it- I am sure he will die of a broken heart at not being able to be with Grandma. It really is the sweetest thing.