CONDOLENCES, KINDNESS AND FAMILY LOVE

We tow our bike and take enough cold weather and rain gear in the truck so we are prepared no matter what the weather forecast.

We left for Door County on Sunday. Monday, we enjoyed breakfast at our favorite breakfast restaurant, The Sandpiper in Baily’s Harbor and a glorious colorful ride around the peninsula in the afternoon. Monday evening we enjoyed dinner with our dear friends, Judy and Michael Surges, who own Hideside Outfitters and Boutique at our favorite dinner restaurant  The Shoreline in Gills Rock. 

We went to sleep joyfully exhausted.

At 2:00 am Jordan’s brother, Burt, called to tell us that Grandma Lil had peacefully passed away in her sleep.

We had left home with a dark cloud over our heads because Grandma Lil, who was 95 years old and had been suffering with Alzheimer’sfor many years was had been in hospice care. Wefelt she had been  waiting to see Jordan’s sister, Sandy and our niece,Laura, who came in from Atlanta to celebrate her 95th  birthday a fewweeks earlier.

It was deja vous  of my mother’s passing 8 years ago, while we were in Door County.  However, Grandma Lil, a “Yellow Brain Planner“,  had her funeral arranged, so there wasn’t much for our family to handle.

We returned home on Wednesday afternoon to meet with the Rabbi and plan the private family graveside service and shiva.

Grandma  Lil’s service was a celebration of her life. She was blessed with her 3 children, 7 grandchildren
and 17 great-grandchildren, and 2 children and 6 grandchildren by marriage.

The Rabbi gave a short eulogy. Jordan also eulogized his mother with a words to remember her by. We concluded the service by the entire family singing the “Glazov Song”, which was my father-in-law’s car business jingle from the 1950’s that we have sung at all our family events throughout the years.

We had a private family shiva, no visitors. We all wanted time together to tell stories and look through dozens of picture albums together. The grandchildren and great-grandchidlren enjoyed chuckling at the photos and listening to the stories.

Grandma Lil was an intelligent, independent, dependable, resourceful, honest, thoughtful and hardworking woman. She was not a nurturing, “Blue Brainer” but a “Green Brain Mother” who taught her children by her example of integrity and self-sufficiency.

There were many plans that Jordan and I had to cancel, last week. However, the kindness and expression of sympathy that people offered us was most comforting. Family members, friends and business associates expressed their heartfelt condolences most eloquently.