Condolence From: Samantha Pagel
Condolence: This past Thursday, we said our final good-bye to my amazing Grandma. As one of my cousin's said, if you looked up "Grandma" in the dictionary, you would see a picture of her, with her curly hair, big glasses, and a smile on her face. It is so hard to put into words, who she was as a person and the amazing impact that she had on my life. She was incredibly supportive of all her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and anyone she called family. She was there for every important milestone in my life, and everything in between. I spent almost every summer and school break until I graduated from high school at her house. My summers were filled with swinging on the big white swing in the backyard, going on rides to Duluth for lunch at McDonald’s, seeing the eagles in Red Wing, visiting Auntie Shirley and Uncle Jack, reading together, learning how to sew, watching Guiding Light, learning to play the piano, and listening to grandma sing to us or tell us stories about her life and about my mom and her siblings when they were little. I can still hear her sing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” I never turned down an opportunity to go visit Grandma and Grandpa. When my parents would go out of town for their yearly fishing trip, my brothers and I would stay with Grandma and Grandpa, and get to enjoy all the amazing food they made, like stuffed peppers or stew, two favorites we still love. We would go to church together, watch Turner Classic movies in the evening, and watch grandma curl her hair with bobby pins while grandpa played cards on the floor. If we were not visiting Grandma and Grandpa, they were stopping in to see us. Grandpa would take Grandma on a car ride, and they would often stop at our house to say hi. Grandma would recite all the animals they saw on their ride. She loved deer, to the point the family actually bought them three deer to be placed in their yard. Grandma and Grandpa loved to go on car rides, and they loved taking us with them.
As I got older and went to college, I often called Grandma just to chat and check in. She would tell me about what book she was reading or about a ride they went on. She was always excited to hear about what I was doing. I can still remember calling her to tell her I got to see the Pope when I was in Rome. A seven hour time difference and a collect call, and we still found time to chat. Grandma loved to talk.
Grandma loved the holidays, all the holidays. She had decorations for Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s day, Easter, 4th of July, Halloween, but nothing could beat her house at Christmas. It was our own little Christmas Village. Every year there seemed to be more ornaments, more Department 56 houses, more Santas, and just more decorations. Grandpa and Grandma were our own Santa and Mrs. Claus. They made Christmas so special for us because it wasn’t about the presents or the traditions, but about the love they had for each other and the love they had for each of us. At Christmas time, their house radiated love.
If I had to use one word to describe my Grandma, it would be love. She loved her family so deeply, all 60 plus of us. She never missed an opportunity to tell us she loved us, whether we were born into the family or married into it. She loved us all.
She loved God, and was a deeply faithful and religious woman. Growing up, we would often go to church with Grandma and Grandpa, or meet them at Denny’s for breakfast after church. Grandma always had a list of people she was praying for and it seemed to take her all day to get through her prayers. In her final weeks, she would ask Mary to watch over her children and tell my brother, don’t worry, I am going to talk to your mom every day. When I close my eyes, I can still hear her say, “if you get a chance, come on over,” or simply just say my name, “sam.” I was fortunate to capture a video of her singing to Aurora when she was a baby, and in these last few days, my kids have watched it repeatedly sitting on my lap calmly asking for more, when the small clip is over. I know that she is still here with us.
Above all else, she loved my Grandpa. Their love was the love of fairy tales, and I have never known two people who loved each other as much as they did. While it is difficult for her not to be with us anymore, and I will miss her every single day, I am so happy that she is finally with my Grandpa. I imagine them in heaven, going on rides together, looking for deer. I have such wonderful memories that I will hold dear for the rest of my life and I intend to share them with my kids as we snuggle under one of the many afghans she made us.
Monday November 23, 2020
