Grandma Maxine

I was cleaning out some old notebooks and I ran across the notes that I wrote for the life sketch that I gave at my grandma's funeral. So I thought I would post here, mostly so I can remember, but also for those of you who knew my Grandma Maxine. We sure do miss you!

Grandma's life taught us many lessons by the way she lived her life & by her example.

One Man's Junk is Another Man's Treasure

She gave new meaning to dumpster diving by purchasing the junk yard where she collected old bottles.

She also taught us about Consequences when certain grandsons (Jordon and Thad perhaps?), took their BB guns to the junk yard & shot up all her old bottles that she was aging in the sun.

Over the years her kids and grandkids learned what a "Scotch Blessing" was, but she always disciplined with love.

She taught us to be Competitive. She kept a  notebook which contained an official "Rummy Record" of the many, many games over the years... who played, who won (mostly her) and who lost (mostly everyone else).

She even kept score when she played solitaire.

she taught us the importance of Supporting one another and the importance of having a "fan in the stands" by making it a point to attend many ball games over the years of her kids and grandkids.

She taught us Moderation by warning against the "ginger quick step" if you eat too many of her famous ginger cookies.... trust me, I learned this lesson the hard way.... more than once!!!

She taught her kids to Work Hard & then Play Hard. If they got the cows taken care of and the housework done, they could go into town for iron port & cherry. Her kids in turn taught their kids the same lessons about balancing work & play.

She taught us to be Frugal by burning mail & tree clippings for heat. She saved melted ice to water the plants. Her most famous "recycling" was for old polyester fabric in the many quilts she made. She made nearly 100 quilts for family members, plus the many quilts she made for others and for the hospital auxiliary. Landis called her finished quilts the "mysteries of the basement". If you had ever been in her basement you will truly understand what that means..LOL!

 She taught us to be Self Sufficient. Many times she suffered in silence because she would do anything to NOT inconvenience others. when she was 90 years old, her furnace went out and instead of telling someone so they could have it repaired, she just built herself a fire to keep warm. When people would ask how she was doing, her favorite reply was "I'll be better tomorrow"

She taught us Dedication by decorating the graves of family members... even relatives she didn't know. She also taught this by her faithful church attendance and supporting meetings when she didn't feel well, just because someone made the effort to plan it.  

She taught us to be Creative  and what Imagination was all about by building small animal pens out of sticks in the dirt. She also mesmerized us grand kids for hours with matchbox cars, crayons and 

who can forget the marbles.....

She taught us to Share  by never taking the last cookie or piece of pie.

She taught us about Organization when she misplaced my parents wedding license by moving the day before their wedding.... ok, that was an example of what NOT to do :)

She taught us to be Fearless  and to Persevere with her saying "This too shall pass"

She taught us Determination  when she mistakenly brought a cow home from the bottoms

 to milk that turned out to be a range cow... but she milked it!!!

Grandma taught us to be Thankful & Grateful.  

Thankful is from the head and Grateful is from the heart.

She taught us about Patience & Reward  in the huckleberry patch. She picked berries until she was 89 years old and she somehow ALWAYS had huckleberries in the freezer.

She taught us the Law of Viva . That is the benefit of Viva paper

towels over a tissue....

 just as soft and much more absorbent!

She taught us the importance of Family.

She made a promise to Everett that she would keep the family close & she did indeed keep that promise. even though the family was scattered about the country, the cousins were able to become friends. It seems the more we lose, the closer we get. Her family and the church were so important to her & she proved this one Christmas by giving all the grandkids their own set of scriptures. I still use mine today over 30 years later.

I think the biggest life lesson she taught us was Unconditional Love by always standing by her family and fighting for them through the many trials and hard times. every member of her family - either by birth or marriage knows they were special to her in their own unique way.

Grandma, we continue to miss you every day, but your life lessons will always be with us.