August 14, 2012 this earth lost a strong and wonderful woman, my grandmother Ida. While I was extremely blessed to be by her side and say goodbye, she will forever be missed. She was an amazing person and I can only hope that Olena will be able to hold on to even just a fraction of her memory. My mother asked me to give a eulogy at the service on Friday, I thought I would post it here so that I never forget the words that I spoke and the feeling that I had that day.
I love her deeply and always will. I know one day I will see her again and there she will be waiting with open arms.
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On behalf of our family, I wanted to take a moment to share
a few words in memory of Ida Mary Crocker or as some may know her, Jeep. I think we all feel very fortunate to have
been able to share in her 70 years of life. To be honest I can’t stand here and tell you
much about Jeep as a child or even a young woman. So I have spent the last 2 days pouring over
the computer for hours stressing about what to write. How do I express my
thoughts in only a few minutes for someone who meant so many different things
to so many different people. She was a
daughter, a sister, a wife, a mother, a friend and most importantly to me, a
grandmother. For me and a few of my
cousins, we were even lucky enough to have her be a part of our childrens
lives….as a great grandma. She was a
woman of many qualities and every person she met walked away with something
that she instilled, taught or influenced. Standing here and looking out, I can see that
I am surrounded by her life’s work – her purpose while she was here on earth….
this family. We are the legacy of Ida Mary Crocker. Her husband, their 6 children and their 5
spouses, 20 grandchildren, and 10 great grandchildren. Each one of us carries a piece of her in our
hearts. Whether it be a bit of her independence,
or her strength. Perhaps her resilience,
strong will or her determination. Or
for maybe like me, your heart swells with her creativity, confidence, or her unconditional
love. Anyone who knew Jeep,
knew she was all of these things.
When I think of my grandmother, I know I am not like
most. I don’t have memories of a little
old sweet lady in an apron, baking cookies, dusting the house and stuffing me
with homemade pot roast or pies. That
was not my grandmother. The woman I
know, was a strong, happy independent young grandma wearing big loose fitting
shirts and comfy pants. She was a
practical woman thinking in practical terms with tons of common sense. She was smart, well-read, and above all,
pragmatic.
When you walked in the house you would find
her curled up on the corner of couch with a book in hand and her ice tea on the
table. She made me pink lemonade with 2
cups of sugar just to make it extra sweet, we sat for weeks painting an entire
ceramic town just to put under the Christmas tree, I would spend hours sitting
on the stairs dusting her doll collection with a paint brush just so that I
could hold them and look at all the tiny details, we had weekly shopping trips
to Franks nursery and Wools worth to find our next craft project. And I have spent many Saturdays sitting for
hours at craft shows selling everything from Christmas ornaments to painted
sweatshirts.
There are so many memories of the nights we sat on the bleachers at Ferndale high drinking cocoa and cheering for the boys. Her and I would always yell and scream, the
cheerleaders loved us! I ‘ll never forget our
trips to Northwood – college football games and taking my uncles to Pondarosa,
even remembering as far back as driving to Florida. While we drove in the dark her and grandpa
would tell me the lights on the side of the road where the alligators eyes
watching and waiting for me. And I
always smile thinking back to the hours and hours I would spend sitting at her vanity
table putting on her make up and jewelry or going through her collection of
crazy lapel pins.
My memories are endless.
I can openly admit that I am probably one of the luckiest people on
earth, I really knew my grandmother. She
was a huge part of my life and the moments I have shared with her could flood
pages and pages of a book. She was there
for me unconditionally from the start, up until the very end.
As we gather today, although we will miss her
physical presence in our lives, let’s
not just grieve, but also celebrate her life as it was fully lived. As we talk
and visit, let’s share our memories, as her Spirit continues to live in all of
us. In the end, the greatest impact we have in this life is
the impact we have on other people. And it is because of the influence
of this one woman that we are gathered here today.
Carry the light of compassion with you
from this place, and hold onto the joy you feel in hearing about Ida from each
of us. Let us live, learn, and love together in her honor.
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