Grandma Heaps passed away November 6, 2010. Her obituary can be found here. We spent several days with her in the hospital as she left this life and it was incredible how she was optimistic and sweet right until the end. She didn’t even complain once as all her organs were shutting down. We all sobbed and sobbed but she was so brave! She was even joking with the nurses in the very last hours.
For example, as they turned her over she joked that one nurse had it easier than the other because one side of her body was lighter than the other. The nurses looked confused, but we all giggled knowing that she only had one leg. My throat tightens up even thinking about those last days with her, so I won’t go into too much more detail, but I sure miss her. She was always the very first one to call on my birthday mornings so it seemed strange not to hear from her this year.We also had our very first Heaps family Christmas party without her; those parties made her so happy. She talked about them all year long. However, her aunt passed away this week and before passing she said, “Ila’s coming to get me!”
When her daughter asked her what she was seeing, she said that grandma was running around! What a comfort to know that she’s pain-free and running around up there.Grandma’s funeral was beautiful; the church was packed with many people who adored her. One nurse drove three hours to see her in the hospital before she passed. The talks given by my dad, uncle, and Aunt Kathy were touching and the grandkids sang two nice songs. She would have loved it; I hope she was listening.
Another sad occurrence took place not long after: we lost Gavin’s grandma Nancy “Nannie” Burgon. Her obituary can be found here. She is the woman I took care of this summer as she recovered from a fall. She has been struggling for awhile with various health problems and had one very-near-death experience in the hospital six weeks prior to her death. It was so sad for us all, especially for Papa (Grant). She too had visitors who came to bring her up to heaven. Her funeral was lovely and filled with nice memories. She too will be greatly missed. Sunday dinners simply won’t be the same without her funny and spunky comments.
Well, what a relief it is to finally have this semester over. My mom is doing much better and is working very hard in her physical therapy to regain the use of her knee. She has had a rough few months. I'll try and update more soon on both this blog and my baking blog. If you haven't checked it out yet, the address is: bakingwiththeburgons.blogspot.com. Merry Christmas!
