Remembering Grandma E

Patrick and I spent Monday and Tuesday with the Ellestad family remembering and celebrating Grandma Ellestad. Grandma E lived 91 good years and it was a blessing to share some time with family and friends in her memory. 

 

This is Grandma E (in the red sweater) and her twin sister Dorothy. 

All of us kids came without our kids - so we truly had the opportunity to spend some quality time with cousins/ aunts/ uncles. Such great stories and memories and photos to share! 

I am a sucker for photos (if you haven't caught on by now!) so I snapped some photos of the old pics so we would always have them. Take a look at some of these beauties! 

Patrick's Grandparents - Elton and Dolores 

Dolores and Dorothy with some cutie patooties!  

(no one was quite sure who they were - but such a great photo!)

Love the old wedding photos! 

Grandma E and her sister were both nurses 

How cool is this photo? 

Love this one of Grandma E - probably pretty rare to have a solo photo in the 1930s 

- especially if you are a twin :) 

Grandma E and her sisters (twins on either side of their mom in front) 

 Love this one too - I think someone mentioned this was in front of the local bowling alley

 - a night on the town!

After the wake on Monday - we honored Grandma E with an Irish wake. 

Ted read a beautiful poem... 

'Remembered Joy'

Don’t grieve for me, for now I’m free!
I follow the plan God laid for me.
I saw His face, I heard His call,
I took His hand and left it all…
I could not stay another day,
To love, to laugh, to work or play;
Tasks left undone must stay that way.
And if my parting has left a void,
Then fill it with remembered joy.
A friendship shared, a laugh, a kiss…
Ah yes, these things I, too, shall miss.
My life’s been full, I’ve savored much:
Good times, good friends, a loved-one’s touch.
Perhaps my time seemed all too brief—
Don’t shorten yours with undue grief.
Be not burdened with tears of sorrow,
Enjoy the sunshine of the morrow. 

and then we all took a shot of Irish Whiskey 

--- I think Grandma would have approved! 

A couple other photos I couldn't leave behind...  

Ted in elementary school 

Ted in high school 

Ted with his pony --- 

He and his brother Jimmy used to ride ponies around town. They even had carts to carry the horse feed and all of their other stuff. I picture a cart filled with fishing gear, jars with crickets/ bugs and probably a couple treasured rocks they picked up along the way! 

And finally - a great picture of Patrick's Uncle Jimmy

--- he is a big part of why our James is our Jimmy :)

Looks like he could have been in the Little Rascals!

Check out that fish --- so proud! 

We were told that he loved those boots - so comfortable he even played baseball in them! 

Thanks for a wonderful couple of days and memories - :)