Grandma was a wonderful, vibrant and godly woman. She placed a heavy emphasis on family, upholding many traditions of singing songs on Christmas Day, serving Swedish delicacies (pickled herring anyone?) and giving plenty of personalized gifts (I keep books just because she wrote in them). I attribute my love for writing letters, gardening and wearing red lipstick to her. While grandma may have been fashionably late, she always made a grand entrance showing up perfectly put together in a fur coat, leather boots and a fine piece of jewelry. Later in life, when most of my family had moved away from Valparaiso, grandma would often surprise me at work with memorabilia (even a note dated 1965 written by great grandma Ruby) and an offer for lunch (Panera really benefited from us those years). Grandma always invited me to church (was this before or after I chose IU over Purdue?), she loved introducing her children and grand children to friends (and complete strangers) with a large smile as if she won the lottery. Grandma was great at saying her good byes because she always looked me in the eyes and told me how much she loved me and how proud she was of me, even if I was just stopping by to check on her internet. I wish I could have said the same things to her before she passed away, but I am beyond grateful for the countless memories we had together and proud to be her granddaughter and namesake.❤️
