Things Missed - Part 3

Continuing my series of posts called "Things Missed" - this series is about important events in my life that took place during the time I was not posting on my blog. I'm calling them "Things Missed" because I missed the opportunity to share them, and you missed the opportunity to read them. This event was a sad one, but I hope you appreciate it.


Grandma passes away

My maternal grandmother passed away on April 10 of this year, less than a month shy or her 97th birthday. The pictures below are the ones used in the her funeral program, with the exception of two: one that I linked, and the last one. I always referred to my grandmother as "Mama Grandma". She was referred to as "Nana" by some of her grandchildren, and all of her great-grandchildren. Ofelia was born on May 6, 1911, in Mexico. She came to the U.S. with her mother, brothers and sisters in 1928 when she was only 17 years old. Here is a picture of her taken that same year:

Tragically, Ofelia's mother (my great-grandmother) passed away a year later in 1929. The siblings were left to care for themselves, including the youngest child Grace, who was only 8 at the time. They persevered though, and all eventually married and raised families of their own. My grandmother met Joseph, and they got married on June 24, 1934. Here's a picture taken of my grandmother on her wedding day:
The original of the above photo, which of course included my grandfather, was displayed at my wedding reception. This was my wife's idea, for which she received many accolades and compliments. Also on display were pictures of her grandparents on their wedding day, and each of our parents on their wedding days. It was so nice to see all of these pictures on display as our guests entered the reception hall.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand. This picture was taken at my youngest sister's wedding reception in 1998. My grandmother personally selected this picture (well in advance) to be placed on her casket at her funeral. We also used it as the cover photo of the funeral program:

In this next picture, which was taken with my mom standing behind my grandmother, better resembles how my grandmother looked in recent years:

Here's a link to to an earlier post I wrote, which was in honor of my grandmother's 95th birthday. It shows pictures of Ofelia's two children, five of her six grand children, and eight of her then eleven (later twelve) great-grandchildren. Also, here's a link to a picture of Ofelia and her sister Grace. This next picture was not included in the funeral program, but I wanted to include it in this post because it was taken less than two years ago, and includes my two kids:

In closing, I'd like to share a poem that my sister wrote about our grandmother, which was included in the funeral program:

Nana

Diminutive in stature
Yet her strength of will
Dwarfed her petite size
When filled with joy
Her radiant smile
Outshone the sun
Those who knew her
Cannot deny the power
Within her small frame
A remarkable life
That nearly reached
A century long
She was impressive indeed
To be so small
And influence us all