This is my maternal grandmother. That is what we called her, Grandmother. No grandma for this lady.
I can't even being to explain the impact she had on me. She was so glamorous and classy. She loved the finer things in life, clothes, jewels, homes, cars-and she had them all. I remember her always driving a Cadillac, always carrying beautiful leather handbags, always smoking expensive, fancy cigaretts.
Her fingernails were ALWAYS painted. When she died, we made sure the funeral director knew to paint her nails. It was a gastly old-lady pink. She only wore reds and wine colors. I wanted to re-do them before the service but there wasn't time. I placed my own bottle of red polish in the casket with her along with her favorite brand of cigaretts.
In total contrast to her outward appearance, she swore like there was no tomorrow. The running joke was when men joined the Navy, they went to her to learn to swear. She was also a card shark. She could hold her own at any card game.
She accepted her grandkids for who we were. If we made a mistake, she was always our ally. At the lowest time in my life, she was there-not judging me but loving me. My cousin told me a story about when she had some trouble with bounced checks in her early twenties. She called Grandmother to bail her out of jail whe she was arrested. All this dear woman said to her was, "We're having spagetti for dinner. Would you like to join us?"
She was very clausterphobic, especially underground in a basement. My Grandfather had the Mousoleum in which they rest built so my Grandmother didn't have to spend eternity underground!
My life, habits, obsessions, many things come from her influence. I miss her still today.
She was the mother of Linda Carol (my mother) and James Lloyd. She had four granddaughters, one grandson, and was very fond of her son's step-children. She knew her two great-grandsons before she passed. Her great-grandchild count has grown to six!
I will be adding more photos soon!