Remembering Granny

My granny, Roxie Buck Hurst, was born September 10, 1911. Today would have been her 98th birthday. Granny's family was from Sunbright. This is the earliest picture I have of Granny, when she was a young girl. Granny was married twice. Something we knew, but it was never talked about in detail. When asked, she would only say that her first husband went off to find work and never came back. She had a son that died soon after birth.

Granny married my Papaw, Lus "Buckeye" Hurst and they had 4 children. Barbara, William (who also died shortly after birth), Tommy (my dad) and Sue. After Granny's death, her sister told us that Granny always believed that William was buried alive. She thought she saw him move before the casket was closed. This was attributed to her being a grieving mother. Whether it was true or not, I can only imagine how horrible it must have been to think that. This is a picture of Granny and Bobbie.

Below is a picture of Granny, Bobbie (who was pregnant with Ronnie), Sue and Dad. It had to have been taken in 1946 as that was the year Ron was born. (Sorry, Ron. We'll still tell everybody we're the youngest)

This picture below was taken about 1959 or 60.

After their children were grown, and the grandchildren were coming along, Granny & Papaw adopted Granny's great-neice, Bonnie.

This picture was taken in the early 70's. It is Ronnie, Granny & Bonnie.

Granny & Papaw had 10 grandchildren. Ron, Me, Debbie, Kim, Rich, Heather, Justin, Talisha, Myron and Marcus. There are 17 great grandchildren and 8 great-great grandchildren.

This picture was taken shortly before Granny was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis.

The one below is Papaw, Bobbie, Dad & Granny. It was made at the funeral home when one of Granny's siblings had passed away.

The picture below was taken after she was diagnosed and had been on prednisone. She didn't like this one much, as one of the side effects of the prednisone was that it made her face fat and she thought the picture showed that.

The picture below was taken before she had to go on oxygen all the time.

This one is of Rachel and Granny. All of my children got to know and have memories of Granny. Even Seth. He was 4 when Granny died. I am so glad they did.

This is Granny on an Easter Sunday at my house, before she was no longer able to get out and go places.

This is the last picture Granny & Papaw had made together.

I have alot of fond memories of Granny. I remember when I was little, before we moved to California, we would sometimes spend Friday or Saturday night at Granny's. Me, Debbie, and Ron. Later on, Bonnie would be there too. Granny would always make us popcorn and we would sit in the floor and watch tv. I remember the time she was cleaning out the kitchen cabinet and dropped a can on her foot. She 'bout cut her toes off and she was bleeding and we were scared. Or the time we spent the night and heard a noise on the backporch. The next morning a whole box of pecans was gone and she told us the squirrels got them. Once we moved to California, we only got to see her about every 2 years. But she always wrote us letters. I remember being so excited to get a letter or when we got to talk to her on the phone. And every year, we'd get a big box of Christmas presents from Tennessee. (I was going through Granny's recipe box after she passed away and found a letter I had written her shortly after we moved. She had saved it all those years!) They even got to come visit us one year. Bob, Lige, Ron, Granny, Papaw and Bonnie all piled into the car and made the 2000 mile trip to spend 2 weeks with us. I think Granny's middle name should have been "Go" (she actually didn't have a middle name). She was always ready to travel. Papaw, on the other hand, wasn't. He didn't like to go anywhere for long. It still amazes me that he made that trip to California. Once we moved back to Tennessee, we spent alot of time at Granny's. Debbie and I would spend the night and walk to the Carol Anne to catch the bus for school. We also spent alot of weekends there. We would get up and get ready for church on Sunday morning to Mull's Singing Convention. I remember picking vegetables from the garden and apples up off the ground. Sitting on the front porch and breaking beans or hulling purple peas. Swinging in the swing till we flew over the bannister. Family dinners and washing all the plastic cups and silverware, because Granny would have a fit if we threw them away. I remember Granny teaching me how to make dumplings and fried apples. How she would say "yello" when she answered the phone. I remember how excited she was when she won the drawing for the TV at Goldston's Grocery. And then how that TV sat on top of the big TV and Granny would watch her "stories" (aka soap operas) on it while Papaw watched his baseball games on the big TV (with the sound down, he couldn't hear it anyway). I remember taking my kids to granny's. They loved going to granny's about as much as I did. She always had to feed them, and send something back to Charlie (usually chicken parts). When Granny could no longer get up and around, we would each take a day and go clean her house, cook for them, run errands, etc. I'm so glad I was able to do that for her.

Granny went home to heaven in November, 1998, when she was 87. She was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis in 1991. When she was diagnosed, they put her on prednisone, which she hated. They told her without it she would only live about 6 months. She took herself off the prednisone and showed them! She lived for 7 years without it. For the last few years of her life, she was bedridden and on constant oxygen. We dreaded to see her time come to an end, because we had been told she would die a horrible death, smothering and not able to breath. But the good Lord had other plans. Shortly before her death, she was diagnosed with colon cancer (from being bedridden). The pain was so bad, that she finally agreed to have a colostomy. She went in the hospital and had the surgery, but never came home. I was in the room when Granny left this world for her home in Glory. She had eaten and was sitting up in the bed. She seemed to be doing a little better. I remember sitting there watching her, looking at her eyes. I can only describe what I saw this way: It was as if the light in her eyes went out. Her breathing slowed to nothing, and she passed away peacefully.

Granny may have been gone for eleven years, but she's not forgotten. She lives on in our hearts and memories. She taught us many things, and we continue to pass them on to others. It may seem like a silly little thing, but I have Granny's old fashioned potato masher. I still use it, and often my grandkids want to help me when I'm cooking. They like to "smash" the potatoes. Every time we use it, I tell them about Granny. They never got to know her, but she is still touching their lives. I loved her very much, and I still miss her. I always will.

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GRANNY!