Kangarus
23-05-2013, 01:12 PM
A small tribute to my grandmother, Rita, who recently passed on a day or so ago from time of writing. I didn't know her very well, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to do it justice.
Perhaps she wasn't that close, and she was not the most comfortable of people to get along with. But she always meant well, and she was a tough character, for good or ill.
From what I do know for certain is that she was a survivor. She survived rejection by her own family after her father died at a young age, and lived through the dark days of the 1929-1939 recession, which hit Australia very hard in those days. She managed to marry my maternal grandfather, who went to war in World War II on the Allied front in the Pacific, and undoubtedly she would herself have made her own contributions to the war effort. After my grandfather died in the 1970s - before I was born - my grandmother was undoubtedly embittered, but she was a survivor, and though her body became decrepit over time, she never lost her faculties and her mind was sharp and unsullied until the very end. It was a relatively painless exit, and my opinion, that she at least had her wits at the end made it a good death.
I have only met her a few times, but though she tended to be bitter at times, she was a good woman at heart.
She is survived by my two aunts, one named Cherie and the other named Joan, my mother, Karen, and many grandchildren including myself, as well as a few great-grandchildren. May her soul find peace and a safe harbour with her husband on the other side.
Grandma, I'm sorry I never was able to make it to your side during those final days. I wish I could have made the time, there's a lot of things I had wanted to say. But, I guess that wherever you are, you're finally happy.
Rest well, dear elder. You have well and truly earned it. - Kyle
Perhaps she wasn't that close, and she was not the most comfortable of people to get along with. But she always meant well, and she was a tough character, for good or ill.
From what I do know for certain is that she was a survivor. She survived rejection by her own family after her father died at a young age, and lived through the dark days of the 1929-1939 recession, which hit Australia very hard in those days. She managed to marry my maternal grandfather, who went to war in World War II on the Allied front in the Pacific, and undoubtedly she would herself have made her own contributions to the war effort. After my grandfather died in the 1970s - before I was born - my grandmother was undoubtedly embittered, but she was a survivor, and though her body became decrepit over time, she never lost her faculties and her mind was sharp and unsullied until the very end. It was a relatively painless exit, and my opinion, that she at least had her wits at the end made it a good death.
I have only met her a few times, but though she tended to be bitter at times, she was a good woman at heart.
She is survived by my two aunts, one named Cherie and the other named Joan, my mother, Karen, and many grandchildren including myself, as well as a few great-grandchildren. May her soul find peace and a safe harbour with her husband on the other side.
Grandma, I'm sorry I never was able to make it to your side during those final days. I wish I could have made the time, there's a lot of things I had wanted to say. But, I guess that wherever you are, you're finally happy.
Rest well, dear elder. You have well and truly earned it. - Kyle