I'm grateful for Jay, for being another love in my Grandma's life for the last nine years. He took care of her and treated her so well. I'm convinced that he is one of the reasons my Grandma lived so much longer after my Grandpa died ten years ago. And those are years I'm so grateful for, but I'm really happy my Grandma and Grandpa are back together again.
I really hope that one day, I can have just a small bit of love in me that my Grandma just radiated with every breath, smile, and hug. I think that the hardest part of having her go though, is that because of this virus, we can't even have a funeral. Each visit to Logan for the last two or three years I have visited my Grandma and said good-bye to her like it was going to be my last time. I knew she was failing, and I knew that I was going to be far away. And even though I was able to video chat with her on Sunday, which was a huge blessing, it still would have been nice to be able to gather with my family and remember her together. They are trying to pull together a video feed of some sort for her funeral on Friday, but it's not going to be the same. She was an amazing matriarch of the Johnson family, and I wish we could all be there together to say good-bye to an incredible woman.
I wrote a letter to be put with other letters from my cousins remembering her. Instead of trying to recreate it (I'm struggling) I'm going going to copy and paste it here:
March 20, 2020
I can honestly say that every single memory of my Grandma
was a pleasant one. Every time I saw
her, she would give me a great big hug and make me feel like I was one of the
most important people in her world. During
my teenage years, that was such a comfort.
She was patient, she was kind, and probably one of the most angelic
women I have ever met. I have a lot of
simple memories of Grandma that I want to share.
I don’t know what made her magnets so magical, but somehow,
they could keep me entertained through an entire hour of sacrament meeting.
Her candy drawer was always full when we visited. But the treat I looked for and coveted the
most, was her homemade fruit leather.
I’ve been on a hunt to find something that compares, but I just can’t.
She was always so happy to see us when we dressed up as
little girls and showed her our fancy outfits, complete with huge clip-on
earrings.
As one of the younger grandchildren, I watched her work on
the crocheted blankets for my older cousins and couldn’t wait until I was old
enough to have one of my own. A blanket
where I could cuddle up in and immediately feel my Grandma’s love for me.
She always smelled like roses. It’s a smell I can’t really describe but
whenever I smell it now, I immediately think of her and am so grateful for the
memory.
I loved hearing her sing.
She never needed much of an excuse to sing, and she had such a sweet
voice. I especially loved when Sheri,
Teri, and Maureen would sing with her.
There was so much love in their songs.
I loved when we would sing at Lake Powell or Bear Lake, because they
made the rest of us sound really good!
When I attended school at USU, I was able to do my laundry
at Grandma and Grandpa’s house. I
thought I was the luckiest girl in the world because I was able to visit them
every week. And every time I visited; I
was treated to a delicious dinner. I
can’t think of roast and potatoes, freshly baked rolls, fresh green beans, or a
lemon cake without thinking of her. They
spoiled me during those years, always sending me home with zucchini from the
garden and a loaf of homemade bread.
She always looked at my Grandpa with so much love in her
eyes. It felt like she was a new bride
adoring her husband, even after fifty years of marriage.
Probably one of my absolute favorite memories of her though,
is her love of playing games. After
dinners we would clear off the kitchen table and play games. Games like Lucky Duck, Razzle Dazzle,
Sinister Seven, King’s Corner, and of course, Zilch. I loved watching her get out her yellow pad
of paper to keep score, and her huge bag of dice, because it meant it was time
for some smiles. She always played the
slow and steady game, never risking too much on a single roll. However, on those rare occasions when she
risked it and had a good roll, she would clap her hands and throw them both up
in the air in surprise and celebration.
When we weren’t playing around her kitchen table, we were playing at
Lake Powell. I don’t think Grandma ever
turned us down when we wanted to play Zilch.
She pulled out her blue snack tin and we munched on peanuts and
M&M’s for hours while we played.
My Grandma Johnson was a pretty spectacular and special
lady. I was truly blessed to have her as
an example in my life. Love you Grandma.
Love,
Annette Johnson Rogers
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