Linda lost her last living grandparent earlier this week. She was 97 years old. Unfortunately, Alzheimer’s Disease had taken her from us many years ago. For many years, we would visit, but it was disheartening knowing that she didn’t know who we were. However, she had a life-long love of music. So, for many years Linda and the girls would go to her place of residence and put on piano and violin recitals for her and all her fellow residents. She clearly enjoyed listening to the music.

She will be missed now that she is truly gone. However, the family has lots of good memories.

One of the memories most retold among our family is best described by Linda’s sister at her blog, Connor and Helen Grow Up:

My grandma didn’t say a lot, didn’t smile in photos, and should’ve stayed out of the kitchen. Her two kitchen legacies are the ability to turn tin-foil into gravy (how else to explain the similarity in taste?) and burning rolls.

Years ago, we were eating Thanksgiving dinner at my grandparents’ home. My brother-in-law put into action the tried-and-true practice of smothering the turkey and potatoes with gravy, because that? That would make everything taste good. My mom, sister, and I all stood there in shock, because we had spent so many years avoiding the gravy, that I think we had forgotten how powerful the stuff was. We have had more than one laugh reliving the look on my brother-in-law’s face when he took a bite.

That same dinner, my grandma had put a pan of rolls in the oven. Mind you, these are just the store bought rolls that come in packages that essentially need to be reheated or browned a little bit. The rolls were done, and my Aunt came into the kitchen and removed them from the oven – right on time. I observed the bold act, thinking that for the first time ever, the rolls would not be burnt. Only, before my aunt could set the pan down, my grandma put them right back into the oven and admonished my aunt that the turkey wasn’t done yet. And that pretty much sums up every cooking memory I have of my grandma

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The funeral was held yesterday at her home church in Salina, KS – University United Methodist Church.

Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon her

The day has arrived for the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl; #5 Kansas State is going to battle #4 Oregon. This should be a very big game.

We won’t be there in person, but we will be there in spirit while watching from the comfort of our own home with family and friends. Here’s to a big win! Go Cats.

EMAW.

For those that want a little fun, here’s The K-State Mask and his motivational video for this game:

The final day of 2012 is upon us and the year is ending with a beautiful snowfall coming down. I’m staring out the window at the snow and I start thinking about all that has happened with our family over this past year. There have been some sad and scary times, but overall has been a great year. Sally writes our annual Christmas letter, but I thought I’d take some time to write down my thoughts about the last year.

We started out the year by experiencing a heartbreaking loss at the Cotton Bowl; Kansas State lost to Arkansas 29-16 and we had to wait 6 more months for the excitement that was Kansas State Football 2012. More on that later…

We go to see Yo-Yo Ma perform with the Kansas City Symphony – one of the highlights of our musical escapades.

My grandmother died on March 6, but we were able to remember her in such a wonderful and loving memorial service. People were so happy knowing that she was finally with my grandfather and in heaven, it almost didn’t hurt to have her gone.

Anna was confirmed into the Catholic Church (along with 68 other young men and women). We are so proud of her faith development. Emily is currently going through the confirmation process.

We spent a wonderful week in Cozumel – a place we hope to return to soon. The beautiful waters, endless drinks, and warm sun are just too hard to stay away from.

Linda finally got the Prius that she’s been wanting for so many years. We are no longer a minivan family. This has actually been a big adjustment, because it means the girls can only each invite one friend to go somewhere (and that’s if I don’t go along). We’ve had to take 2 vehicles sometimes, when previously we’ve been able to pile into the minivan. However, Linda loves her car and the 43.5mpg is hard to complain about!

Anna and Emily stayed very busy with piano, flute, violin, and dance. They have each begun really spreading their musical wings and becoming individual unique musicians. The next 3 year years will be exciting to see them in all of the high school activities to which I’m sure they will be attracted.

Linda and I did a lot of biking – but not as much as we wanted. My bike crash in June with the resulting fractured pelvis really put a damper on things. However, Linda was able to bike across Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, and Mississippi with friends while I drove the support vehicle. This was a really fun adventure (but I would’ve been much happier riding instead of driving).

Speaking of driving, Anna received her restricted drivers license and is looking forward to driving any opportunity she can. Emily will be starting in just a few months….

Also, speaking of Tennessee, the four of us visited Memphis and Nashville for our summer vacation. We were immersed in American musical history. What a great vacation. We also extended our presidential library visits this summer (Dwight D Eisenhower, Abraham Lincoln, and Andrew Johnson).

Further family vacationing saw us spending a long weekend with Linda’s family at a 4H family camp. Archery, horseback, rifle range, crafts, bunk beds, nature hikes, and cafeteria dining brought back a lot of memories of camps as a kid. We had a lot of fun.

I moved to a new job this year, joining an old friend from med school and residency. I’m enjoying my new group of partners and look forward to continued professional satisfaction taking care of patients in the emergency department.

I started singing with the Kansas City Symphony Chorus as a bass. What a challenging, yet incredibly rewarding adventure. We performed Carmina Burana, Handel’s Messiah, and a marathon Christmas Festival. This next spring we will be performing Rachmaninoff’s The Bells.

Finally, the Kansas State Wildcats football team gave us quite a thrill this year with a 10-1 season. We were number 1 for one week (if not for that nasty loss at Baylor). Collin Klein flirted with the Heisman trophy. After all these years of being considered an afterthought in any football conversation, we seemed relevant. We will be playing in the Fiesta Bowl in just 3 days (in fact, many family and friends have already started heading towards Arizona). We will be watching the game with friends here at home – hoping for a big win over Oregon. I hope I don’t have to start next years look back with a loss at another bowl game.

Happy New Year everyone!

Today we travelled to Topeka to celebrate the birthday of The Mother-in-Law (what she calls herself). What’s even better is that Elaine, Ed, and the kids are still in town. All 10 of us gathered for presents and then went to Red Lobster for a seafood feast (at least as good as you get in Kansas).

Happy Birthday, Carlene.

Today we travelled to Seneca, about 3 hours away, to attend the funeral of Linda’s Uncle Melvin (husband of her mother’s oldest sister). Coming from such a small family, I’m always amazed at the number of family members there are on the maternal side of Linda’s family.

It was a touching service in the beautiful older church, Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church. The music was provided by the Knights of Columbus mens choir (Melvin was a fellow Knight). This was followed by a bitterly cold graveside blessing that lasted approximately 5 minutes; 19 degrees and 30mph winds hastened the retreat to our cars. Finally, we reconvened back at the parish hall for a nice lunch prepared by the volunteer women of the church.

The priest noted during the homily that we normally are celebrating and joyous at this time of year; however, we were meeting to mourn the loss of a beloved family member. However, there is comfort knowing that Melvin will be waiting for us when we come to the end of our earthy journey. Although a sad occasion, it was wonderful meeting up with all of the family.

***Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him***