Funeral Speech

I asked my parents if I could share some memories of my grandma at her funeral. No one else in the family planned to share because it would be too difficult so I was the family spokeswoman. I was able to share, by God's grace, without crying. An amazing feat, if you know me at all! Here is what I said...

My name is Kristina and I am Hazel’s youngest granddaughter.

I have been reading through the books of the prophets in the Old Testament. One theme that has struck me throughout my study of these books is the theme of remembering. God tells His people to remember what He has done for them in the past.

Micah 6:5 says, “My people remember now . . . in order that you may know the righteous acts of the Lord.”

Having read these words and others like them I have been prompted to remember God’s hand upon my own life and what He has accomplished in my life as I look to see what He is currently doing.

When I got the phone call on Sunday afternoon from my mom sharing with me the news that Grandma had died, I also could not help but remember. I have so many wonderful memories of my grandma. This morning I would like to share with you just a handful of what stands out to me about my 33+ years with my grandma.

The first two memories I share I do not even remember on my own accord, but I have had countless reminders from my grandma and my parents about them. When I was just a little girl, 9 months old to be exact, my grandma would pacify me with dill pickles. Yes, that is right. She would slice a large dill pickle lengthwise into four quarters and give me one at a time. I would suck the soft part out of the pickle, leaving the harder outside and Grandma would give me another. To this day I thoroughly enjoy dill pickles!

I do not remember this incident occurring, however my grandma would remind me of it time and time again. I must have been about 5 or 6 and she and I took a walk around her block on one occasion when I was spending the night with her and we were nearly back to her house when I fell down and scraped my knee on the sidewalk. Grandma would tell me, and whatever audience happened to be present, that I started screaming and jumping around like a “chicken with my head cut off.” She was clearly embarrassed by this behavior as we were on 6^th Street and tried to get me to walk home. I was in such pain, however, that I continued to scream and carry on for quite some time. I now have a daughter who would react in the EXACT same manner so I can relate to the embarrassing feeling.

As I continued to grow, there are many things about my grandma and my time with her that have been soldered into my memory.

There were always cookies in the cookie jar and candies in the candy jar on her counter. When I would spend the night she would make the most delicious snacks: graham crackers with butter or saltines with peanut butter.

Nearly every time I would go to her house she would have a new dress hanging in the hallway across from the bathroom for me.

On many occasions she came to pick me up at my parent’s house and she had a car with leather seats. She always had a towel on the seat to protect my legs from being burned by the hot seat. After she picked me up we would go out for lunch, many times to 2510 where we would both enjoy a Reuben sandwich. Afterwards we would go shopping and many times we would stop at JoAnn or Hancock Fabrics to pick out a new pattern and material for her to make me another new dress.

I had a toothbrush at her house. I spent the night there quite often and she had a toothbrush for me to use while there. If I remember correctly she even had one there for Shawn and Nick, who never even spent the night.

On those occasions when I spent the night many times we had the privilege of cleaning out Tweety’s bird cage. She would let me help change the newspaper and give him fresh food and water. As I consider this project now, with two children of my own, I realize that “letting me help” was probably more work than doing it herself. Yet, she never once made me feel like I was an inconvenience in that process. The way she ministered to me as a child continues to speak volumes into my life and the lives of those I am with daily.

Grandma kept her house neater than anyone I have ever met. Everything had a spot and everything was in its spot. If you know me at all, you know that I am similarly minded. Grandma did not have a dishwasher per se, but she did have a wash tub under her kitchen sink where she would store any dishes from breakfast and lunch that would otherwise clutter up her counter. She would say, “Krissy, let’s just put these dishes in the “dishwasher” until after supper tonight and then we can wash them all up together.”

She called a room in her basement the “fruit cellar” and in that room she had stored tons and tons of canned goods. Things that she herself canned and things she had purchased. Whenever she needed something to supplement lunch or dinner, she would send me down to the “fruit cellar” for it.

If you knew me as a child, well, if you know me as an adult, you know I adore babies. I have always loved dolls and nearly all of my dolls were made for me by Grandma. She was an extremely talented seamstress. Not only could she make clothes for me, she made me dolls and then clothes for them. My most memorable doll from my grandma is my Annie doll. She made me Annie and many changes of clothes for her. She even made me Annie’s dog, Sandy. Katrina is the proud owner of Sandy now and will soon inherit my Grandma-crafted doll collection in its entirety.

When I was 15, almost 16, Grandma took me for a drive in the country. I had my temporary license and needed some behind-the-wheel practice. Again as I think about this now she must have been totally and completely concerned about the well-being of car, of which she took incredible care, yet she set those feelings aside to give me what I needed, time behind the wheel. Things turned out smoothly. No accidents to report.

We would go to her house as a family for Sunday lunch many times and whenever we did, she had the dining room table set for what looked like very important company. You see, to her, we were very important company. I never once felt like I was a bother to her even when I spilled red jell-o salad on the white tablecloth. Now that I am older and more aware of how difficult that is to clean, I know it must have been unnerving for her to host us on so many occasions and yet she put those unnerving feelings aside to minister to us in such a special way. God has made me a lot like my grandma and as I sat and remembered the role she played in my life, I have been encouraged to set aside feelings of bother in order to minister to those in my midst. That is what Grandma did with me. All. The. Time.

When Pancho and I were engaged to be married his family was in town for the wedding. The day before the wedding my grandma, being 84 years old, hosted both of our families, totaling 12 people, for brunch. She pulled out all the stops. It was a pre-wedding brunch that could have been served to royalty. Then again, in her heart, we were royalty.

These are just a handful of the memories that I have of my dear grandma. I loved her dearly and was loved by her dearly. I have always known I wanted to speak at her funeral because she played such a key role in my life. In the last few days I have spent a lot of time thinking about my time with her over the past 33+ years. I have spent a lot of time remembering and from that remembering, I realize even more how much she ministered to me in ways I have not recognized. Grandma was a woman who put her own feelings aside to serve others. I am so blessed to be one of those “others” that she served so graciously.

As I remember my grandma I am prompted to remember God’s design in choosing her for me. He is a gracious God who gave me the best grandma, chosen just for me.