The Eulogy

The eulogy Adam prepared for Nana...

When asked to spend a few minutes talking today, I started thinking of all the memories spent in Hill City and all the family traditions we have participated in our entire lies. These memories are a large part of who Grandma is to me, and to many others, and it is these moments shared with her that help build the people we are today. Regardless of what life throws our way, these memories are ours to keep and they will never leave us and therefore, neither will Grandma.
As we gather today to celebrate Grandma’s wonderful life and her contribution to everyone in this room, I’d like to take just a couple minutes to remember some of the family traditions that many of us here will always cherish.

• As a kid I can remember arriving at Hill City after what seemed like a very long drive and then being overwhelmed with the excitement of pulling down the driveway knowing we would soon be greeted with warm hugs, barking dogs, and always a fresh pan of chocolate brownies. Through the years I noticed that it wasn’t just us pulling down the driveway to see Grandma, as people from near and far were always coming to visit. People were just drawn to her. Grandma had this magnetic sense about her and people just wanted to be in her presence.

• We will always remember playing card games and board games at Grandma’s house almost every night for at least an hour or two as a pre-bedtime ritual.

o The favorite games over time were “5-straight” and “Oh darn”. From time to time we would try other games like “Apples to Apples” and “Scattergories” but those games didn’t last as it usually led to some long and sometimes passionate discussions about silly topics like if people do or do not store nuts in the refrigerator.
o The neat thing about the family games was Grandma never sat one out; she never missed a deal, and always wanted to be a part of the action and took advantage of every opportunity to bring joy to those around her.
• We will remember sledding at Quadna and making long trains of sleds with everyone linked together in what inevitably would result in a big crash and a giggling pile of relatives about half way down the hill. I am not sure the train of 5-6 sleds ever made it all the way down to the bottom but we always picked ourselves up, dusted off the snow, and marched right back up the hill to try again. Grandma’s strength and persistence was visible in each of us and I would like to think it still is.
• We remember Thanksgiving traditions for many years at Quadna resort playing the annual football game and where we all got our membership cards for being inducted into the Uga-booga-club. Grandma never missed a new member being welcomed into the family and she embraced fun in everything she did.
• We will also remember all the cousins sleeping in Grandma’s living room in pull out couches, cots, chairs, cushions on the floor, and about anywhere you could find a small piece of real estate you could lay out your sleeping bag.
o We will also remember how ridiculously hot it was in that room as the stove was always stuffed full of wood before the adults went to bed in the back areas of the house. We kids would fear this part of the night as we knew the heat would soon over take us and we would all be sweating in our own personal sauna in a matter of 15-20 minutes.
o There were times we would wake up the next morning and the candles on the mantle would be drooping over from the heat…literally.
o The worst part about this routine was that at about 2am when the temperature had just started to drop and you could get a little relief, somebody would come in from the back room navigating their way through the piles of kids to get to the stove, stuff the stove full of wood again, and run off to the back bedroom.
• We will remember exploring in Grandma’s garage and the countless exciting things that could be found in that place. Grandma always had a sense of adventure and as a kid I believed that garage had some magical powers to it because no matter how many times we had searched every inch of that place, the next time we went it, we would find some other new and interesting treasure to play with.
• We will remember family vacations in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico and how unique it is to have the opportunity to have your entire family on vacation at the same time. Grandma’s generosity was always amazing and I believed she embraced generosity not only later in life with trips, but what she gave to us in the form of her love and unwavering support
o We will also remember the bird feeders and the fat fluffy birds that also benefited from Grandma’s generosity.
• We will remember Grandma’s pontoon rides around the lake and calling the eagle. Grandma always seemed so natural being on the water with the sun on her face. She seemed to have this connection to nature and she almost glowed circling the lake and she set the tone for the rest of us on how to quietly enjoy the world around us.
o As a note, there are very few people I tell the eagle story to who actually believe there is a bald eagle on Hill Lake you can call out of a tree if you are willing to give it a crappie or sacred walleye. Maybe that is part of the fun of the story.
• We will remember the picture collages she had on her walls displaying all of us at different ages as we grew. These pictures never changed even though we did and seemed to be a constant reminder that time keeps moving us forward even with some of these moments we are talking about now frozen in time in those frames.
I could go on all day and I am sure all of you could create lists upon lists of cherished memories shared with Grandma. For me, nothing is more sacred in my mind than the times swimming at Grandma’s beach, seining for minnows, paddle-boating, fishing off the dock, and sitting around the outside table enjoying the view of the lake with loved ones. It seemed that regardless of what we were doing, Grandma was always there sitting in the chair on the dock, always with a big smile, watching the activities and taking it all in. As we celebrate her life, it doesn’t feel like she has left us at all, and rather I believe she is still watching over us, still taking it all in with her big old smile, only now she just has a better view of the action.