Remembering my Wonderful Grandma

In mid-August we had some very sad news- my Grandma Dean passed away. She did not suffer long, and she was surrounded by family and friends in her last days, which I know she appreciated. But that doesn't make it any easier, and we will miss her greatly. The entire extended Dean family gathered at the farmhouse in Parishville NY (where Grandma Dean grew up) to celebrate her long and full life, and honor her passing. We shared lots of stories and memories which alternately brough tears and laughter until we were all quite physically and emotionally exhausted (at least I know I was).

Grandma Dean's children and their spouses (left) and grandchildren and spouses and great-grandchildren (right). The entire family hadn't been together at one time for at least a decade.

I know one thing I will miss most about Grandma Dean is her storytelling. In her later years she was very hard of hearing, which could make sustained two-way conversations trying at times, but if you could get Grandma started talking about her childhood or the escapades of her own children she could talk and talk and talk for hours with no real nead for you to do anything except sit back and enjoy the ride. Her stories unfolded slowly, but they were always entertaining. She could recall the sequence of events in a single day of her youth or adulthood with remarkable clarity. One of my favorites was the story she told me while I was in the hospital on pregnancy bedrest last year, about how each of ther 3 children got their names, and the stories of their births. It was a long story (I'd say a good 2 hours plus), but to quickly summarize, my Uncle Larrie was named after a children's poem (Larry the Lamplighter), Aunt Memorie was named after a contestant my Grandma heard on a radio game-show, and my dad was named Steven (without a "ph"! much to my grandma's chagrin) after my Grandfather finally put his foot down and declared that his last child would not be named Lance! My grandma's doctor at the time always seemed to be unavailable when she went into labor (he was usually out hunting wild game on some remote Adirondack lake), arriving at the last minute in his wool checked hunting garb (sterile, I'm sure) too late to make it to the hospital. This timing had some interesting consequences - my dad, for instance, was born on the family couch! I definitely appreciated the distraction and humor of her stories while in the hospital stressing about my own upcoming labor. :)

Grandma with Aiden on the day he was born

We will all do our best to remember Grandma Dean's stories and we will definitely keep her in our hearts. She was a feisty lady but she was always kind-hearted, even at the height of her feistiness, and she loved her family more than anything. We will all miss her very much.