My Nanny
Tonight my great grandmother, Margaret Storer passed away at the age of 98. Even while I'm writing this I cannot believe or comprehend that she is no longer alive. Death is such an odd thing.
Nanny was a woman I thought would live forever. She just kept going. Until today when she died, she lived on her own in her same home she had lived in for over 20 years going up and down the stairs each morning and night. She was lonely but she was insistent on living in her home without any help. She loved sweets, especially chocolate. Every time I would go and visit her I would make sure to stop by the store and pick up some sweets for her. She loved her ice cream and cake and always had treats for us when we came to visit. Even as adults she would shower us with food and treats.
She was a fascinating woman. I have two very different families. My dad's side is so open and sharing and just bursting at the seams with love for one another. My mom's side of the family (the side that Nanny was on) is much more quiet and personal and much more mysterious. The love is the same, it's just more personal. That being said, Nanny has always been so interesting to me. As I became an adult I was able to have more candid conversations with her and learn more about her. Turns out, she was very open to talk about herself and her past -- perhaps people just didn't ask often enough. Either that or as she got older she just felt like she had nothing left to hide.
Her past is still full of secrets and confusion for me. One I thing I do know is that her first husband, my great grandfather, was a heavy gambler and was pushed off the Roosevelt building in Seattle when my grandfather was very young. I was told her had some mafia ties. That is all I know, I would love to know more. She worked with the air force later in life and that is where she met her second husband, my grandpa John, who passed away 10 years ago.
The last time I saw her was this summer when Dalton and I met in Spokane my sister and brother-in-law and their new baby Greta at the lake. We made a stop off at Nanny's to visit with her. I am so thankful that Dalton video taped the whole conversation and time. The purpose at the time was to document Greta meeting her great-great grandmother. Little did I know that he was also capturing the last time my sister and I would spend with her. I will always cherish that video.
I am so proud to have called her my family. She was so strong and stubborn and lovely and stylish. I am so glad that part of her is forever part of me.
Nanny was a woman I thought would live forever. She just kept going. Until today when she died, she lived on her own in her same home she had lived in for over 20 years going up and down the stairs each morning and night. She was lonely but she was insistent on living in her home without any help. She loved sweets, especially chocolate. Every time I would go and visit her I would make sure to stop by the store and pick up some sweets for her. She loved her ice cream and cake and always had treats for us when we came to visit. Even as adults she would shower us with food and treats.
She was a fascinating woman. I have two very different families. My dad's side is so open and sharing and just bursting at the seams with love for one another. My mom's side of the family (the side that Nanny was on) is much more quiet and personal and much more mysterious. The love is the same, it's just more personal. That being said, Nanny has always been so interesting to me. As I became an adult I was able to have more candid conversations with her and learn more about her. Turns out, she was very open to talk about herself and her past -- perhaps people just didn't ask often enough. Either that or as she got older she just felt like she had nothing left to hide.
Her past is still full of secrets and confusion for me. One I thing I do know is that her first husband, my great grandfather, was a heavy gambler and was pushed off the Roosevelt building in Seattle when my grandfather was very young. I was told her had some mafia ties. That is all I know, I would love to know more. She worked with the air force later in life and that is where she met her second husband, my grandpa John, who passed away 10 years ago.
The last time I saw her was this summer when Dalton and I met in Spokane my sister and brother-in-law and their new baby Greta at the lake. We made a stop off at Nanny's to visit with her. I am so thankful that Dalton video taped the whole conversation and time. The purpose at the time was to document Greta meeting her great-great grandmother. Little did I know that he was also capturing the last time my sister and I would spend with her. I will always cherish that video.
I am so proud to have called her my family. She was so strong and stubborn and lovely and stylish. I am so glad that part of her is forever part of me.
posted by Jenny at
9:43 PM
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