I can still remember meeting my Gramby when I was young and wondering why on earth she wanted us to call her that. Come to find out later it was out of respect for my grandma who had passed away a few years earlier and since she didn’t want to “replace” her and her name was Bonnie, she came up with Gramby and it stuck. She is truly one of the kindest, caring, and most loving people I have ever had the opportunity to know. She was truly a blessing in my life and I miss her every day. I have so many great memories of visiting her and my Grandpa out in Arizona. She made him so happy and I will be forever thankful for that! She went to the alley every week to support him in bowling even though she did not bowl herself. We would sit out back on the patio, looking out over the mountains and she would ask about my life and was genuinely interested. I can remember waking up and watching the Macy’s parade in the kitchen on Thanksgiving while she was busy as a bee cooking away. I loved playing the Wii together and seeing who was better at golfing. She had such a kind heart and impacted everyone she met. She was a great writer and wrote a memoir looking back on her life and telling of all the great stories she had. I started reading and couldn’t put it down. I think I read the whole book in a day or two! Her health had been declining for a while, but my family was able to go out to Arizona last summer and visit her in the nursing home. I am so thankful for that time together and will cherish it forever. She passed away on April 21st, which was the same day as Muster, a tradition here at Aggieland honoring those Aggies who had fallen. The fact that these two events had fallen on the same day was both extremely difficult and so sweet at the same time. I decided to go to the Muster and as I sat there listening to the choir sing “Amazing Grace” I missed my Gramby dearly but I also celebrated the fact that she had lived a long, happy life loving those around her and being loved back in return. I will always miss her but I thank God for the blessing of her in my life!
