Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Remembering Grammy Shaw

Over Memorial Day Weekend, Katy, my dad, and I headed out east to Palouse, WA. My parents both grew up there and that's where I lived, too, as a wee little fellow.

We joined my cousin and my aunt and uncle Deerkop (who live in this beautiful place just outside of Palouse) to remember Grammy Shaw. She passed away three months ago. Her death caught us all by surprise, and the fact that she's gone is really still sinking in. Grammy and I talked almost every night on the phone ... indeed, we talked the night before she died. I'll always remember that final phone call -- she was happy and in good spirits.

I remember thinking over the past few years how it was odd that Grammy didn't really seem to have any hobbies or things she was interested in. But now that she's gone I've realized that she valued what's really important in life: people. To call her a social hub would be an understatement. She had an absolutely amazing ability of bringing people together. She thrived on her family members connecting with each other. We all joked about Grammy's famous "phone pass" -- where you'd be talking on the phone with her and suddenly she'd pass the phone to, say, your aunt standing nearby.

After we visited Grammy's grave on Saturday, my dad and I took a walk down along the railroad tracks that wind along the outskirts of Palouse. He recounted his memories from 50 years ago, when he was a kid playing by those same railroad tracks (not much has changed in Palouse) and causing a considerable amount of mayhem.

It struck me that our father-son walk down memory lane was exactly the sort of thing that would make Grammy happy. It was the perfect way to honor her memory.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

Grammy Shaw will always hold a special place in my heart. Though I had only a choice few encounters with her, they left me with indelible memories of a wonderful lady.

Jonathan said...

She definitely was a fan of yours, my friend. :)

Anonymous said...

It's still hard for me to believe that Grammy is gone too. I'm glad that we had a chance to honor her memory over Memorial Day weekend. Hopefully we can do it again next year.

Vanessa said...

Sorry to hear she's gone. It sounds like you spent a nice day honouring here though. She's really beautiful in that photo.

Jonathan said...

katy - yes, we should definitely make that a tradition.

Vanessa - hi! Yes, there are some great photos of Grammy from the 40s ... she was a very vibrant person and that comes through in the photos.

Anonymous said...

Jonathan, I absolutely love that photograph of Grammy Shaw. What a face and what a smile. Beautiful. No one who met Grammy Shaw could ever forget her. I know I only met her a few times, but she sure made an impression on me. There was just something marvellous and joyful about her. She just glowed with life.