Grandma Ruth

Last Friday, my dear Grandma Ruth Reynolds passed away.  I wanted to post a few pictures and thoughts I wanted to remember.  Since she recently turned 85, I jotted down that many things I remember and will miss- along with a note she'd typed in a memory book.  We're sure grateful for her and her life.  We are different- the world is different- because of her.

Grandpa and Grandma


1. How Grandma always had a 'laugh' in her voice, whether she was talking or not.
2. How she called on your birthday- at 7am-ish- to sing Happy Birthday, and that
3. when Grandpa was alive, they did it together.
4. How she was so consistent and thoughtful in writing letters to her missionaries,
5. and to us on birthdays and special occasions.
6. How we always felt completely welcome in her home, and
7. how two, ten or twenty-five of our friends would feel welcome in her home, too.  ...Even if we were unexpected visitors.
8. How she'd let us "mess up" her house to play Barbies, 'restaurant,' or whatever else we wanted to do.
9. Her Halloween Cousins Parties.  Featuring pizza, catching up, playing Grandma's funny games.
10. How Grandma was an expert at applying fake lashes!  Jealous.
11. How special she made us feel when she'd host a shower or party for us, and
12. how she let us get to know her friends and neighbors by inviting them to our parties- it's awesome that we were able to have them as part of our family and lives.
13. How she always wore stilettos! Even on 'casual' days. Don't think I could pull that off for so many years... 




Grandpa and Grandma


14. How dedicated she was to her church callings.
15. How dedicated she was to her sisters in her ward, neighborhood and community.
16. How capable she was in preparing and delivering lessons and talks.
17. How she enjoyed taking care of herself and looking put together and stylish, and
18. how fun it was to shop with her, and
19. how happy a time it was when she'd made new purchases and had a chance to show them off to get your opinion- LOVED those moments.
20. How respectful she was of the priesthood.
21. How she used to smother green salad with mayo during Sunday dinners.  Not my fave ;)
22. How she always baked rolls or bread loaves on Sundays when we'd go visit, and
23. she always had great jam on hand, either homemade or from Bear Lake.
24. How special Bear Lake was for her, and for us.  We always had that tradition of having that special place to spend summers (and winters back in the day) with each other- camping, boating, snowmobiling, swimming, ATV riding, jet skiing, water skiing, and



Dad, Grandma and Uncle Kim at Bear Lake

25. how, while at Bear Lake, Sundays always included a big roast dinner followed by a family volleyball game...
26. How it took Grandma and Grandpa approximately 6 1/2 hours to make the 3-hour trip to Bear Lake, due to all Grandma's shopping stops!  **One time, Ashlyn and I went with them and laughed the whole way at how many times we stopped to buy groceries and stuff- and how they listened to a cassette tape of yodeling.  Yes, yodeling.
27. How cool it is that Grandma and Grandpa spent years going out dancing and ice skating together.
28. How she made me a couple of ceramic statues.  What precious gifts those are to me.
29. How wonderful her yearly Christmas parties were- including a nativity acted out by the young'uns,
30. singing along to the Disney karaoke Christmas videotape,
31. watching the video of Grandpa bearing his testimony the last time he was able to be at the Christmas party,
32. and sharing gifts.
33. How proud she was of us, whenever we did something well- whether it was good grades, a dance recital or getting married.




Me, Hoot, Lance, Becky, Matt, Grandma at church at Bear Lake


34. How she was always there at special events.
35. How generous and thoughtful she was with gifts- she always put thought and effort into making our lives better.
36. How funny she was when she was cheering at a football game or other event.  She'd yell this WOOoooOOOoooOOOooo... so loud and so fun.
37. How supportive she was of my dad and brothers in their football careers.
38. How she used to call my parents' house every night, just to say hi and see what we were up to.



Grandma and my dad

39. How killer her banana cream pies were. 
40. And coconut cream pies. 
41. How fun it was to sleep over at her house.
42. How much fun she had with her accessories!  She loved earrings, rings, broaches... She was done up to the hilt.
43. How she loved using silk flower arrangements and ceramic statues and dolls in her decor.
44. How she always had root beer and chocolate milk in her fridge,
45. Burnt Almond Fudge ice cream in her freezer, and
46. bananas and cashews in her pantry cupboard.
47. Her chicken pasta salad, and
48. her party slush.
49. How when she was set to marry my grandpa, her father said to him, "She can't cook or clean.  You can take her, but once you do, she's yours.  You don't bring her back." haha




Grandpa and Grandma, wedding day


50. How she always drove good-sized cars, and
51. I was a bit nervous about her hitting something, because she was so short that sometimes it looked like she could barely see over the wheel!
52. How no fail- even if we were there after a long night of sleepover partying- Grandma would wake up at the crack of dawn... 5:30... 6:00, and
53. she was NOT quiet in the morning, either.  She'd be putting away pots and pans, walking up and down stairs, opening and closing doors... it was hilarious.
54. She did that in hotel rooms too.  And Bear Lake...
55. How she always wore panty hose.
56. How beautiful her skin was, and
57. how she always stayed in shape with her hot little figure ;)
58. How she, a tiny, shorty lil lady, gave birth to my giant dad.  We've often joked at how that all happened...



Grandma, Kim and Shaun at Christmas party, 2009

59. How she always had treats in her purse!  Treats like mints, candies, sometimes even cheerios or bread during church. 
60. How she truly enjoyed cooking for us,
61. and serving,
62. and how she genuinely wanted us to enjoy the food and our time together.
63. How she faced cancer head on.  And won.
64. How loving and accepting she was with my husband and my kids and my little family;
65. She showed my hubs and kids so much love, and I'm eternally grateful for that.
66. How she got married very young- like 16!
67. How proud she was of her ancestors and
68. how she often shared stories of them;
69. She was particularly proud of her father, who came across to America at a young age and worked in order to bring the rest of the family over.
70. Their old house.  I still remember and love that house.  I remember running around the circular layout of the main floor.  I remember the funny shag carpet in the basement where we'd party.  I remember that to go from the kitchen to the family room, you had to walk through a bathroom/shower.  I remember the saloon-style doors in the master bathroom.  I remember we were afraid of the upstairs bedrooms with their short ceilings and crystal-style doorknobs.  I remember the smell of the utility room in the basement.  I remember the garage and pool outside.  I remember the stairs hidden in the back bushes that went down to the dirt land where the tractors, dump trucks and semis used to be.  I remember that the lot to the east of the house used to have a gas pump and also went down to the truck/tractor land.  I remember the blacktop driveway that went in a half-circle around the house. 
71. I was sad when that house was to be torn down.  A few days before it was destroyed, I went through it one last time.  The windows had already been taken out and everything had been prepped for demolition.  I walked through it and found a couple of little trinkets that I kept- including one small white baby shoe.
72. How Grandpa always called her "Marge."
73. How fun a traveller she was!  Grandma loved to travel, and we got to do a good amount of travelling with her on football trips. 




Gram, Dad, Lance and Dallas, Hawaii for Lance's Hula Bowl


74. She was always up for anything, especially while on vacation.
75. She loved to eat good food at nice places.
76. She often went on recruiting trips with my dad, which he loved so much.  They were perfect travel companions!  They'd drive around to his appointments, eat good food, do some shopping, and talk and talk and talk.  I'm glad they got to spend those times together.
77. How she always called Peli "Little Suka" or "Tiki."
78. How during the '08 and '09 football seasons, we were living close to Grandma, so she'd have us over to watch the BYU away games.  She'd pull out her toys for Peli to play with, and we'd grab some grub and cheer.  I'm so grateful for those times.  It was right before and right at the beginning of her illness getting a bit worse.
79. How she was always still up for a jet-ski ride or a boat ride... and that
80. she'd let someone carry her or piggy-back her out to and in from the water.
81. How she loved watching the Hallmark channel and old TV shows and movies. 
82. How she also loved some of the current movies, too- like action flicks and love stories.
83. How she never- like, never- let anything get her down.  She could always see the positive, the light at the end of the tunnel.  She was someone who was just simply happy.  Always upbeat, cheerful, a joy to be around.




Front: Shirlene, Gram, me, Ashlyn
Back: Rylie, Becky, Dad, Mom, Matt, Tauni, Ann, Brianna, Houston, Connie, Mindy
Brianna's baby shower


84. How the first time I roomed with her at Bear Lake after Grandpa passed away, I heard her quietly saying her personal prayers before bed.  And I heard her go through every single person in the entire family- children, spouses, grandkids, spouses, great-grandkids.  Every. Single. One.  I never knew til that moment that she'd always done that.  And she continued to do it. 
85. Her unconditional, absolute L O V E for the Lord, for Grandpa, for us.  She had more joy and cheer and love and charity in her heart than anyone.

Christmas '09: me, Peli, Mom, Suka, Raini, Becky, Halle,
Brianna, Matt, Gram, Lance, Rylie, Lance III

Peli at "Grandma Moof's" house, as he called her.
We were watching the BYU game and Peli was playing with all her toys.

Grandma at Bear Lake, July 2009
(the last time we were able to take her with us)

Gram and Grandpa

Me, 1-yr-old, practicing piano under Grandma and Grandpa!

As I was going through photo books and scrapbooks, I came across something Grandma typed at some point.  It's pretty telling, and sums things up nicely, in her words:

"What more could a mother ask for than six lovely healthy children.  They have always been obedient, helpful and obeyed their church teachings through church activity.

...I've enjoyed all of my church callings as well as the civic: primary teacher, counselor, Mutual teacher, chorister, Mutual presidency, Relief Society, Sunday School coordinator, PTA boards, Republican Committee Registrar, Perth Mission.

I do love life and figure the celestial kingdom could not be nicer.  We have, as a family, had great joy in our times together and the trips and experiences of good and bad we've shared will always be remembered and treasured."

---

I'm so grateful for the time we had with Grandma Ruth.

She helped shape us and shape our lives with her guidance,

example, cheer, charity, leadership, support, courage and class.

I could not have asked for better grandparents than the four I

was blessed with: Shirley, Ruth, Wally and Shirley.

It doesn't get any better than that.

I am terribly sad that she's gone,

particularly that my children will not know or remember her better.

I am also, though, terribly happy for her- glad she's been released

and is home with her sweetheart.

But, Oh, how we will miss you...