This handsome couple are my paternal grandparents. Louis Arther & Elsie May Johnson were married on March 12, 1941. They brought 5 children into this world: Arliss, Karen, Pamela, Allen (my daddy) and Jeff. They were married for 64 years before my grandad passed away in 2005. On May 3, 2017 my grandma Elsie, my hero, and my favorite person passed away. She lived an incredible 98+ years. She built a family, a home and a life that will be remembered by her loved ones and friends. She touched the hearts of many.
I have feared for years that when she passed our family would lose connection as she was the binding that held us all together. I feared we would not contact each other, not visit one another and frankly not have much to say to our more distant relatives. Our family would sever into 5 sections; each child having become the patriarch or matriarch of their respective family tree branches. This may still happen slowly and quietly without much notice but I know that for the 1 week that we were all together in a tiny tourist town in Northern Minnesota that we were all closer and more connected than we had been in years. We visited, we laughed, we cried, we embraced and opened up to one another. Of course there were times of tension and anger but there was more love and support between us all than I have ever seen.
I hope that her amazing example of what family is and how we should all connect will pass on to each of the generations that she left behind. My grandma Elsie was famous for her birthday cards and hand written notes. She is survived by 17 grandchildren, 33 great-grandchildren and 15 great-great-grandchildren and she sent birthday cards to every child from birth to age 18. She sent Valentines, Easter cards, Halloween treats, and Christmas goodies. She loved to send and receive letters and photos of her family. She kept them all and showed them off whenever a friend or relative stopped by the farm for coffee and cookies.
Ah... coffee and cookies. Never did I ever see a guest arrive at my grandmother's house and not be offered a hot cup of coffee and homemade cookies or cake. Not once! She was always happy to receive visitors and loved to sip coffee and chat with the neighbors, relatives and friends.
There are a million things that I could tell you about my grandma but here are my favorites:
She was honest. She knew when to sugar coat the truth and when to give it to you straight and she had a way of making both versions exactly what you needed to hear.
She was sassy! She was by no means a potty mouth but she knew exactly when to use a choice curse word as the perfect adjective to spice up a joke or story. And she would laugh. My god, I loved her laugh.
She loved us. All of us. She was disappointed, she was angry and she was sad with all of us at some point-in-time but she loved us- always.
She was up at 7am cleaning out the deep freezer, she was flower beds and gardens, she was baking fresh bread, she was smashing freshly picked raspberries for jam, she was cinnamon toast for snacks, she was bedtime stories, she was blanket forts in the living room and she was everything a grandmother should be or could be. She is the grandmother that I hope to become.
I love you grandma Elsie and I will miss you always. Thank you for bringing us together at your end.
P.S. I planted pansies this year- just for you.
