Grammie

Easter '06 in Florida with Grammie and Poppop

Our dear Grammie, my mother's mom, died last week after a long struggle to recover from a severe car accident. She had been in the hospital since July. So, there were definitely mixed emotions at her death. We miss her terribly, but no one wishes she were still back in the hospital suffering. She had just turned 84 at the end of November. Oliver and I went up to the funeral in Long Island. Ryan had a sinus infection so he wasn't able to come with us. The funeral was beautiful. Father Gaffney, who was my grandfather's friend since freshman year in highschool (1935!) said the Mass and gave a brilliant tribute to Grammie. He spoke of her humble elegance, her generosity and gracious hospitality, her love of children and her unparalleled homemaking skills! (he called her a laundry engineer...washing and folding mountains and mountains of clothes of her 11 children). She was also a great cook. I'm really indebted to her for establishing a great tradition of eating well. She used fresh, seasonal produce before it was "fashionable" and even in her old age would get on epicurious.com and find new recipes to try. I loved being able to call her up for menu ideas or cooking tips. I think of her often when I'm in the kitchen. I also miss her corny email joke forwards, even though I had gotten to the point where I wouldn't even open them anymore. Now I wish that I could get one more from her.