On December 19, 2010 my loving Grandma Loria Smith passed away and is singing with her husband as they continue to watch us all carry on their loving legacy.
My mom and 3 uncles answered a sweet prayer of mine to be able to speak at her funeral. It was so amazing to talk with cousins and remember the sweet memories of this great woman that played a big role in molding us into who we are today. When I remember Grandma it will be with a smile.
I'd like to share my talk. There are so many more memories. Maybe by reading these words more memories will come and big smiles will follow.
I was asked to retell the great memories of all the grandchildren that we have of grandma. I hope you don't mind me chewing gum today. This isn't meaning to be disrespectful. It is actually a tribute to grandma. She usually had a piece of gum. I remember fondly showing me how she made the gum POP!
We all didn't call her by the same name. For some it was Grandma Smith, Grandma, maama, etc. But in collecting memories one thing was the same. Grandma made all of us smile.
When Grandma was in her house I'd call her and we'd spend most of the time catching up on what you all were doing. I knew what everyone was up to, who came by, who took her shopping or to the doctors, how everyone did at wrestling matches, cheer competition, races, car shows, and how much fun she had at birthday parties.
She always made me smile.
There are a number of things that would bring memories back of wonderful times at Grandma's, and all I need to do is mention a few words and everyone can picture the whole scene as if it were yesterday.
She always made us smile.
Grandma's door was always open and she always had food ready on the stove. She gave us all wonderful traditions of chicken and dumplings, jello salad with fruit, the best canned green beans, little debbies, banana baby food, and coke was always known as "pop".
Christmas was the best time of the year. Grandma didn't have much in money but we never knew that. There was never a shortage of love. We would all sit in her front room with a stocking full of my favorite Christmas gifts. Socks, underwear, and a book of lifesavers and other hard candy. And she wouldn't start until everyone was there. I remember waiting for Uncle John until what seemed to an 8 year old girl like midnight before we opened our gifts. (It was really only 9pm)
The best memory the great grand kids have is the "party" grandma had at her house on the 4th of July. She loved her grand babies. Even when her health started getting bad she just wanted to see and take care of the grand babies.
Everyone can remember the Ouija board. We were in trouble for knocking everything down s we all piled on top of each other down the stairs. Grandma was there telling parents to "leave those babies alone". "They didn't hurt anything".
The Athena restaurant was where grandma made those amazing salads and where some of us sat and ate chips with blue cheese dressing, Greek olives, and talked to grandma while she worked.
Grandma would always let us get pizza from Casano's across from her house. I felt so grown up. She'd let us call ad order it and walk over to pick it up.
Nikki tells a story about just how much grandma enjoyed us all and loved to help and be a part of everything we were doing. It was her first date with Josh and she wanted to make chicken and dumplings. She called grandma and grandma stayed on the phone as she took Nikki step by step until it was done.
Kim tells a story about how inventive grandma was. Nothing was to hard and there was always a solution. Chelsea was a baby and grandma was babysitting her. Kim called to make sure grandma had what she needed and grandma said Shaun forgot diapers. Grandma told Kim she found something and she was alright. When Kim got off work and went to pick Chelsea up, she saw that Grandma had used dish towels and maxi pads. Everything was just fine.
She always made us smile.
Grandma made the best macaroni salad. It was at all the family gatherings. She had the kids always help out. Some of us used a knife for the first time cutting up pickles for her. Do you remember the year she lost her band aide?
She always made us smile.
It was so much fun at grandma's house. I loved her big tree. We used that tree as "base" for hundreds of games of tag and hide and seek. Grandma would sit on her front porch and watch us play.
We always made her smile.
When grandma got frustrated and tried to call one of our names, she'd run threw all 9 of the other grand kids names until she got to the one she wanted. This wasn't a bad thing. Just one thing that made us smile.
Kmart was one of her favorite stores. Grandma took me there when I was about 8 and got my picture taken. She had gotten me a pair of purple corduroy overalls that I loved. I kept wearing those even when they were to short. That was my favorite picture.
Grandma loved doing things with us.
She always made us smile.
The best memories would be the 45+ years we grand kids were blessed to spend with her.
She loved us and always made us smile.
