A colleague of mine recently lost his grandmother. She was 102. He sent us a little note via email this morning that inspired me to live my life to the fullest. If we get to experience even half of what this wonderful lady did in her life, I believe it will be a life well lived! This is something I thought was worth sharing with the world. Read on,
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Hey Everyone –
I thought I would share this with you. My Grandmother passed away on Sunday; she was 102. However this is not a sad time – she was an amazing person and everyone has great stories about her. She had live at home, by herself, until August 2009. Some of the things I would like to share:
· She was a starting guard on her high school basketball team in 1925. Most girls weren’t allowed to play sports, but basketball in Indiana was a bit different.
· Most women didn’t go to college in the 20’s, but she graduated from Manchester College in 1929 with a degree in education. She continued to take classes; she even took the same math class with my dad while he was at Purdue (he was NOT happy).
· She married a farmer in 1929 and had 8 children. She also had 16 grandchildren, 24 great-grandchildren, and 7 great-great grandchildren. Her husband passed away in 1966.
· She taught school for 40+ years, kept the books for the farm, and raised an amazing family.
· Favorite memories include when she went in a stunt plane at age 70, went ice fishing in MN (-30 degF!) when she was 75, took a hotair balloon trip (and a fall) when she was 80, and road jet skis in her late-80’s.
· She broke her neck (YES NECK!) when she was 90. Somehow it fused back together, and even though she wasn’t allowed to drive after that, you would see her riding around the farm in her golf cart – usually going out the garden to cut asparagus or something.
· She witnessed so many technological changes – reliable electricity brought to the country, the invention of calculators, cars, washing machines, etc. She was born 4 years after the Wright Brothers flew at Kitty Hawk; and she was at Cape Canaveral to witness the fateful Challenger liftoff.
· She was an avid sports fan too. Unfortunately she never got to see her Pacers when an NBA championship (she loved Reggie Miller and despised Michael Jordan) and didn’t get to see Purdue win an NCAA title (she loved Gene Keady but had few nice things to say about Bobby Knight).
Anyway, I always thought she was a great person and just wanted you all to know how neat she was.
I thought I would share this with you. My Grandmother passed away on Sunday; she was 102. However this is not a sad time – she was an amazing person and everyone has great stories about her. She had live at home, by herself, until August 2009. Some of the things I would like to share:
· She was a starting guard on her high school basketball team in 1925. Most girls weren’t allowed to play sports, but basketball in Indiana was a bit different.
· Most women didn’t go to college in the 20’s, but she graduated from Manchester College in 1929 with a degree in education. She continued to take classes; she even took the same math class with my dad while he was at Purdue (he was NOT happy).
· She married a farmer in 1929 and had 8 children. She also had 16 grandchildren, 24 great-grandchildren, and 7 great-great grandchildren. Her husband passed away in 1966.
· She taught school for 40+ years, kept the books for the farm, and raised an amazing family.
· Favorite memories include when she went in a stunt plane at age 70, went ice fishing in MN (-30 degF!) when she was 75, took a hotair balloon trip (and a fall) when she was 80, and road jet skis in her late-80’s.
· She broke her neck (YES NECK!) when she was 90. Somehow it fused back together, and even though she wasn’t allowed to drive after that, you would see her riding around the farm in her golf cart – usually going out the garden to cut asparagus or something.
· She witnessed so many technological changes – reliable electricity brought to the country, the invention of calculators, cars, washing machines, etc. She was born 4 years after the Wright Brothers flew at Kitty Hawk; and she was at Cape Canaveral to witness the fateful Challenger liftoff.
· She was an avid sports fan too. Unfortunately she never got to see her Pacers when an NBA championship (she loved Reggie Miller and despised Michael Jordan) and didn’t get to see Purdue win an NCAA title (she loved Gene Keady but had few nice things to say about Bobby Knight).
Anyway, I always thought she was a great person and just wanted you all to know how neat she was.
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This also marks yet another comeback of mine, to blogging. A wonderful season of Cricket is coming up at the Lehigh Valley Cricket Club and I'm pumped! Looking forward to blogging about the Cricket season and general happenings at our end over the Spring and Summer.
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