We said goodbye April 27, 2005. Mother was in alot of pain but was embarrassed when nurses came to bathe her. I`m glad she didn`t have to endure pain long. Pancreatic cancer works fast!
We buried her in a pink dress (she thoughtfully had drycleaned a couple weeks before) with a yellow ribbon on her shoulder in honor of a grandson serving in the war in Iraq. Several young great grandchildren took it all in. One commented "Why is Big Granny sleeping in church?" Another "Big Granny is in a pretty cradle." At the cemetary they were the last to leave "Tucking Big Granny in." I`m sure Mother was smiling down on them. She looked at death as a celebration, another step in life!
I think I will close with Grand-son-in-law Walter Cox`s tribute that says it all.
Juanita "Big Granny" Balk 1920-2005
You were always the consumate "Granny", the most gracious host, never expecting, yet always prepared for visits from the offspring of your offspring. There were always cookies on the counter, and your famous cinnamon rolls were perpetually in various stage of preparedness. You were always sincerely interested in our work-a-day, humdrum lives, and you always doted on our children. Polite almost to a fault, modest to the core, religious in a firm but not overbearing manner, an all-around-one-hec-of-a-pleasant-lady to be around, your influence will be felt infinitely, and your presence will be sorely missed. Thanks for being a part of our lives.
A nice tribute. I miss Big Granny. I still think about her in the present tense. It's hard for me to believe it's been over 2 years since she passed. My favorite quote from her was when some of us grandkids were talking with her about raising her kids. We all said how we couldn't imagine her ever getting mad at any of them and she said, "Some days they made me so mad I just felt like pinching their little heads off!" We were all rolling!
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