Dobrindts Dot Com: My Grandmother

My Grandmother, June Gest, my mother’s mother and my last remaining grandparent, passed away last Wednesday, November 30, in the morning. She was living in a senior apartment complex but on her own. The Monday before Thanksgiving she was having some discomfort and she went to the hospital. She was sent home a day or two later and was doing ok through the weekend. She was not in great health and in addition to taking numerous medicines was on oxygen. Her heart was the main thing that was going. On Monday of last week, she was really in discomfort and called my cousin’s Bill’s wife Jennifer to come over to be with her. Later that day they put her in a hospice with the hope that she would get better for the holidays. On Tuesday I booked 4 tickets to Ohio to take my family out there to see her on December 16 since my mother and my sister were going out too. My uncle Bob went to see her Tuesday night and Wednesday morning she peacefully passed away. She was 86. The nurse said she was comfortable and relaxed.

June Gest never lived outside of Medina County, south of Cleveland. The program from her funeral read as follows;

June Arlene Gest was born to Earnest and Dorothea Gunkelman on March 30, 1919 at Valley City, Ohio. She was baptized at Emmaunel E & R of Valley City by the Rev. H.J. Hahn on June 4, 1919. On June 4, 1933 June was confirmed into the Lutheran Faith by the Rev. Albert Lamprecht at Zion Lutheran Church at Valley City, Ohio. She was married to Howard Gest on September 18, 1937 at Zion Lutheran Church by Pastor Lamprect, and together they were blessed with three children, Janet, Donna and Robert, the spouses, nine Grandchildren and 18 Great-grandchildren. June died on Wednesday, November 30, 2005 and will be buried at Zion Lutheran Cemetery of Valley City.

My two sisters flew to Ohio during the mid afternoon on Friday and I flew in Friday night from a business trip in St. Louis. My wife and the kids couldn’t make it. One of my cousins flew in from Atlanta and the rest were all within driving distance. My cousin Billy and his wife picked me up at the airport and took me to the funeral home on Friday night where my aunts and uncles and some cousins waited after the wake ended so I could meet up with them and see my Grandmother. I appreciated the fact that I could be there for at least a few minutes on Friday.

The weather was unseasonable cold on Friday with high winds and snow falling throughout the day. The funeral and cemetery-side service were on Saturday, which was cold but no snow. Our extended family got to spend time together, albeit for the wrong reason, for the first time in more years than I can remember. I got to see family members who I haven’t seen, and who haven’t seen me, since I was a little kid. It was great. Putting faces to the names on Christmas cards we get every year.

I was one of 6 pall bearers, along with Billy, my other cousin Kyle, my uncle and Godfather Bob who was June’s only son, my cousin’s husband Joe and his teenage son Michael. I was honored to carry my Grandmother from the church to the hearse and again to her final resting place. Small, but significant to me.

Like most wakes for the elderly it was a solemn affair but filled with great stories and a lot of chatter. We had an early dinner at the church after the cemetery and filled each other in with stories from the past few years. My Aunt Fern, who is my deceased Grandfather’s sister, 90, talked to me for a while and gave me some great stories about the family. My Grandmother, along with most all of my family, was heavily involved with the church, Or should I say heavenly involved. So the church service was more about the joy of being with one’s creator, especially after a very long and fulfilling life, than it was about those who are left behind. As much as it might hurt, and like my mother said “final” as it is, no one expects the elderly to live forever. June lived a great life and passed with tremendous support from her family and friends, especially those who lived near her who, and I cannot say this strongly enough, have been there for her every step of the way and whose constant care is appreciated by me and all of those who do not live in Ohio.

My Grandmother was married a few months after she graduated from high school. She lived in rented houses all her life and never owned a property. She lived in rural areas of Ohio. She worked on a farm, was a house wife, a cook and worked for a school in the kitchen for over 25 years. She lived a hard life with few comforts but raised her children with the right principles and taught them what they needed to succeed in life. She was married to Howard until he passed in 1990, over 50 years. There are things that I will always remember about her and that will always remind me of her.

- I’ll remember each Christmas getting socks and a 10 dollar check. And for a long time a huge box of assorted home made cookies. Kitchen hand towels with a calendar and ‘The Dobrindts’ on it were always part of every Christmas gift set too.

- Cranberry juice reminds me of her. Tall, thin, glass soda or “pop” bottles of Sprite remind me of her. As far back as I can remember her dishwasher never worked and she kept bags of candy and cookies stored in there.

- Reader’s Digest reminds me of her, she always had them in a magazine rack next to her chair in front of the TV. Rummikube and cards were played all the time. My Grandmother loved playing card games and was a bit of a hustler at Tripoloy. She used her sweet Grandmother way to lull all of us into a false sense of weakness. Good thing it was only pennies at stake.

My Grandmother was great to her grandchildren and treated all of us the same. She was warm, patient and fun. She had a strong belief in family and faith and I have a mental bank full of good times with her, my Grandfather and extended family. I knew she was going to pass away one day. She had heart surgery a couple of years ago and everyone’s health steadily declines at a certain point, its nature. But for me, this ends a period of having grandparents. My father’s father passed away when I was a little kid, my father’s mother passed when I was a teenager, and my mother’s fathered died in 1990. I have lived all of my life with grandparents and now they are gone. Sad, yes. Inevitable, of course. But when my sisters and I were going through a bunch of old photos that my Grandma had in her apartment, I realized that even though she is no longer here, she will be a part of my family forever. Looking through pictures of her at her confirmation, her wedding, as a 30-something mom and as she moved into old age was heartwarming. 86 years is a long time and if you believe in God, then she is in a much better place, waiting for us to someday join her.

Dobrindts Dot Com

The Dobrindt family website...take two

My Grandmother - June Gest

TrackBack

Comments

Post a comment