My grandma passed away a couple months ago. She was 102, so her passing wasn't so unexpected, but it still was hard. I still find myself feeling sad occasionally. But I love to have so many of her paintings hanging around my house to remind me of her. And now that it is Christmas time, I have some of her old Christmas decorations around the house.
I have this picture of her holding me framed in Collin's room next to one of my Poppa holding me on the same day. I posted it on Facebook after she died and wrote this, "I cherish this photo of my Grandma and me- our first meeting, nearly 24 years ago. I have it on a shelf in Collin's room where I often look at it as I rock and sing to him before bed. She passed away last night, after a long (102 years) and wonderful life. The pain of losing her is hard but I am comforted by my testimony that I can be with her and the rest of my family forever. I smile at the thought of her sweet reunion in Heaven with my Poppa. Until we meet again Grandma! I love you!"
A few memories I have of her:
One time when I was in elementary school I spent part of my spring break with her at Leisure Village while my mom was at work. I kind of feel like Corinne only had spring break for one week and I had it for two?? Any way, my mom would drop me off in the morning and then pick me up sometime in the afternoon. I remember Grandma making me a chocolate milk shake every day (She sure had a sweet tooth!) I also went to her ceramics class with her and got to make a little dish. She also took me swimming.
I remember many Christmases going with one of my siblings to pick Grandma up in the morning before we could open our stockings. My favorite thing was to hold up the pass for the person in the booth to open the gate.
I remember playing behind her place in Camarillo. There were lots of trees, I would collect pine cones and look for bunnies and squirrels. She also always had a poinsettia and tomato plant growing on her patio.
I also have a very vague memory of her babysitting me one night when my parents were out late. She put me to bed in her spare room and I remember my dad carrying me out when they picked me up. I have no idea how old I was, but I feel like I pretended to be asleep so I didn't have to walk to the car, or something like that :)
In middle school I sang a solo for the CineMagic performance I was in. The day of the performance I got a package in the mail from Grandma. It was a beautiful gold necklace with a hear pendant. I don't remember exactly what she said when I called to thank her but it was something along the lines of her being proud of me and happy that there was someone else in the family who enjoyed singing as much as she did. I wore it on the day of her funeral.
In the last couple years of her life her memory was not always the best. But I was always so impressed that she remembered that I was married to Michael and that we lived in Texas. My biggest regret is that I didn't call her nearly as often as I should have. But I will always cherish our last conversation a couple weeks before she died. We didn't talk about much, but she wanted to talk a lot longer than I expected- probably close to 30 minutes or so. She was eating lunch at the time so we talked about her food- a fruit assortment. She would pick a piece randomly (she couldn't see, since she was blind) and then try to guess what fruit it was. We talked about how Collin and I had had fruit and cottage cheese for lunch. She told me that she used to love small curd cottage cheese with her fruit (they didn't have small curd where she was living). After she died I went and bought some. Collin and I both loved it with our fruit, but really who wouldn't, its like eating cream :) We also talked about her paintings, I told her of the many I have hanging in my house. We talked about a Christmas painting she did once of the Nativity, but it got lost at a church activity one time. We both hoped that where ever it ended up that someone is loving it as much as she did. I told her about the small nativity painting I have of hers. (Perhaps it was a practice piece for the one she lost.) Some day I will frame it, but this year it is resting on my mantle. Every time I talked to her she always ended the conversation telling me how blessed she was to have such a "perfect" family. She always commented on how happy she was that we were all so close. I will never doubt that my grandma loved me.
Her obituary:
A spry 102 year old Norma Bailey Jenkins passed away September 22, 2014 in North Logan, Utah due to an overdose of life.
Norma was born June 22, 1912 in Revere, Massachusetts to Fredrick Joseph Bailey and Norma Fay Amazeen. She was raised in Kittery Point, Maine and lived all over the West, although she always considered Kittery Pt. her home.
She married Howard J. Jenkins on August 12, 1948 in the Idaho Falls LDS Temple. They raised their two children in San Bernardino, CA, and then retired to Crescent City, CA where she loved to paint scenes of the rugged coastline and redwoods that reminded her so much of her childhood home. She and Howard enjoyed camping and traveled all around the US and Canada every summer where Norma would paint and Howard would fish. They especially loved their trips to Banff, Alberta, Canada. After 15 years in Crescent City, she and Howard moved to St. George, Utah. After Howard’s passing, she moved to live near her son Allen in Camarillo, CA and later near her daughter Fay in Half Moon Bay, CA and finally to North Logan, UT.
Norma was an accomplished painter in both watercolor and oil and many family members and friends are the recipients of her beautiful paintings. She was a voracious reader, loved poetry, pottery and music, learning to play the organ and later in life, the drums. She authored several books: autobiographic, philosophic and original poetry. During World War II she worked as a welder fabricating submarine components at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Maine.
Norma was very proud of her New England heritage and never lost her accent or mannerisms. Some may have called her stubborn but those who knew her well have described her as “independent, witty, and a firecracker”. She was interested in current events and enjoyed a spirited debate, sometimes adopting an opposing viewpoint just for the sake of a good argument.
Norma was a convert to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, joining the church in Maine as a young woman. She was the first convert of the Portsmouth, NH branch and she remained faithful to her beliefs throughout her life.
Norma was preceded in death by her parents, two brothers Richard and Frederick, and her husband Howard. She is survived by her son Allen (Nancy), daughter Fay (Robert), five grandchildren, and fourteen great grandchildren.
Services will be held at the LDS Church located at 2540 N 400 E, North Logan, UT with a viewing at 9:30 am and funeral at 10:00 am on Saturday September 27, 2014. Norma will be laid to rest in the Freedom, Wyoming cemetery that afternoon at 3:00 pm.
Norma was born June 22, 1912 in Revere, Massachusetts to Fredrick Joseph Bailey and Norma Fay Amazeen. She was raised in Kittery Point, Maine and lived all over the West, although she always considered Kittery Pt. her home.
She married Howard J. Jenkins on August 12, 1948 in the Idaho Falls LDS Temple. They raised their two children in San Bernardino, CA, and then retired to Crescent City, CA where she loved to paint scenes of the rugged coastline and redwoods that reminded her so much of her childhood home. She and Howard enjoyed camping and traveled all around the US and Canada every summer where Norma would paint and Howard would fish. They especially loved their trips to Banff, Alberta, Canada. After 15 years in Crescent City, she and Howard moved to St. George, Utah. After Howard’s passing, she moved to live near her son Allen in Camarillo, CA and later near her daughter Fay in Half Moon Bay, CA and finally to North Logan, UT.
Norma was an accomplished painter in both watercolor and oil and many family members and friends are the recipients of her beautiful paintings. She was a voracious reader, loved poetry, pottery and music, learning to play the organ and later in life, the drums. She authored several books: autobiographic, philosophic and original poetry. During World War II she worked as a welder fabricating submarine components at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Maine.
Norma was very proud of her New England heritage and never lost her accent or mannerisms. Some may have called her stubborn but those who knew her well have described her as “independent, witty, and a firecracker”. She was interested in current events and enjoyed a spirited debate, sometimes adopting an opposing viewpoint just for the sake of a good argument.
Norma was a convert to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, joining the church in Maine as a young woman. She was the first convert of the Portsmouth, NH branch and she remained faithful to her beliefs throughout her life.
Norma was preceded in death by her parents, two brothers Richard and Frederick, and her husband Howard. She is survived by her son Allen (Nancy), daughter Fay (Robert), five grandchildren, and fourteen great grandchildren.
Services will be held at the LDS Church located at 2540 N 400 E, North Logan, UT with a viewing at 9:30 am and funeral at 10:00 am on Saturday September 27, 2014. Norma will be laid to rest in the Freedom, Wyoming cemetery that afternoon at 3:00 pm.
