Remembering Grandma

Margaret Lee Overturff

  June 6, 1921 - July 16, 2017

Grandma left this world on July 16, 2017 at age 96.  I had been expecting the call these last few weeks, but when it finally came, I still was not prepared to hear the news.  Mom, Daddy, and Ashley were with her when she passed away which I was so thankful for.  What's really amazing is that they were sitting with her for a while knowing the end was coming.  Mom leaned over and whispered to her "Go see your mother now.  She is waiting for you."  It was then that Grandma took a couple more breaths and then she was gone.  I'm so glad mom got to have that time with her.  Mom took such good care of Grandma.  She visited her almost every day, did her laundry for her, advocated for her, and made sure she received the best care possible.  Daddy took care of all of Grandma's finances and always supported Mom with whatever decisions she had to make for her.  How lucky Grandma was to have them both care for her the way they did.  She was such a wonderful grandmother and I have so many fond memories of being with her.  I'm especially thankful that she got to be part of Pearce's life.  I remember taking Pearce to see her when he was just a newborn and she fell completely in love with him.  It was always so fun to see Pearce interact with Grandma.  As he got bigger, his love for Grandma grew, too.  He was so sweet with her...Pearce, Nathan, and Charlotte all were.  They loved to brush her hair, put lotion on her hands, play with her jewelry, push her in her wheelchair, and eat the chocolates she always had in her room :)  Grandma always played games with them and although she became more confused about names, she knew these little kids were special to her and just loved them so much.  She loved showing them off to her friends at lunch and always lit up with joy when she saw them.  Pearce and I saw Grandma just a couple weeks ago, but I knew then, that was probably going to be our last visit and sadly, I was right.  I was so worried about telling Pearce that she had died.  I had started preparing him for that and a lot of the times we talked about it, he cried.  He was also deeply sad when he found out Grandma's roommate, Ms. Mary, had passed away last year.  He cried and cried about her.  Chris and I sat Pearce down and told him that Grandma had gone to Heaven.  I was crying when I told him and when I looked at him, he just smiled.  Chris asked if he was sad.  Pearce said "No, this is good!  Now Grandma has a new body in Heaven and she can walk and play.  Oh, and she gets to see Ms. Mary and Otis and Cookie and Grandpa and she gets to be with her mommy, too!"  It made us so happy that he chose to think of her passing that way.  Chris and I were talking about her funeral arrangements and Pearce asked if he was got to go.  We told him yes and he said "Oh, this will be my first funeyearold!"  This gave us the chuckle we needed.....just hearing him trying to pronounce funeral was funny :)  We went to Dallas Wednesday and then to Springfield, MO Friday for her visitation that evening and then her graveside service Saturday morning.  It was such a bittersweet time...saying our final goodbyes to Grandma was heartbreaking, but seeing our extended family was wonderful.  Pearce, Nathan, and Charlotte made all of us so proud.  They were so respectful and well behaved and extremely compassionate when they saw us crying...giving me, Ashley, and Mama their sweet hugs.  They each made a picture for Grandma and at the visitation, put them in her casket so that she would always have them.  We all gave Grandma one last kiss.  We went to Aunt Mona and Uncle Gordon's house for dinner and enjoyed being with family and reminiscing.  Saturday morning, we drove to Willard, MO for the graveside service.  It really was such a nice service.  Victoria sang Grandma's favorite song, "How Great Thou Art."  It was absolutely beautiful!  Me, Ashley, Jen, and Lisa each spoke about our favorite memories of Grandma.  When the service was over, we all got a few of Grandma's flowers and put them in her and Grandpa's headstone.  We then went over to Lisa's new house for lunch and then took the kids to see Grandma and Grandpa's old house, Mama Pearce's old house, and to Phelp's Grove Park to play....this was the park we all played in during our childhoods.  It was fun letting our kids play here.  Then we went to Andy's Custard for ice cream....Andy's was where Pearce had his very first ice cream cone when he was 2 :)  We went back to the hotel and let the kids swim for HOURS while the family visited some more.  I think Grandma would have been so pleased with her family gathering together to honor her.  Life goes on, but Grandma will never be forgotten.