You see, in December my Great Grandma Joyce Savage passed away. She was the strongest, most graceful and classy woman.
When my Great Grandma was young her appendix ruptured inside of her body and, while she was lucky that it didn't kill her, she was unable to have any children because of it. So, she adopted 13 children - some of them were a little bit older, like my Grandma, and some as infants - and was the type of mother who had dinner on the table, kept the house clean, mended the socks, ran her own successful real estate business, and did it all in pearls and heels!
She endured some incredible trails. Her husband left her after 50 years of marriage, she has buried some of her children and watched others fall away from the gospel. Through it all she continued to hold her head high.
My Great Grandma never judged anybody. She only said nice things about people and would tell us that if we couldn't say anything nice we shouldn't say anything at all. People knew that my Great Grandma loved them because she wasn't afraid to show it.
At the end of her life she lived at the nursing home where I work, so I was able to help take care of her and I was able to have a lot of one on one time with her to discuss things. I am so blessed to have had that special time with her.
I could go on and on about what an amazing woman she was, but I will just say that she was and remains one of my greatest heros and I hope to be a quarter of the woman she was.
I love you Great Grandma.
This was taken at our wedding. It is a picture of my Great Grandma, my Grams, my Mom and me - 4 generations of 1st born girls.
