R.I.P.

I wish to thank every single one of y'all for the thoughts, prayers, and positive vibes, and I ask that you keep them coming.  For as of this evening, I am no longer someone's grandbaby.  Grandma passed away earlier this evening, apparently in her sleep, which is how we prefer it.  She didn't die on the floor like a family friend did, nor did she go screaming and fighting tooth and nail.  From what we're hearing it was a bit sudden but peaceful.

My grandmother's full name was Alta Jeanette Hester (referred to hereafter as "Jeanette"), and she was born on September second, 1927.  Here's what she looked like as a young woman; Mama thinks she was about nineteen or twenty.

Jeanette had five brothers and four sisters, three of whom (two sisters and a brother) are still with us.  She lived to be ninety years old and spent forty-four of those years working at Malden Library, where I now work.  When she was...I think it was about two years of age she was severely burned while playing with matches, and she spent a good portion of her childhood in a hospital in Kansas City, being cared for by the Shriners.  Indeed, she was gone so much that when she came home for good her youngest brother, who had been born while she was away, looked her over and demanded to know who this "new girl" was.  Jeanette didn't talk much about this time but did share one story about a power outage.  In the hospital there were several children with polio, and back in those days severe cases of polio were treated with a respirator, better known by the public as an iron lung.  Iron lungs ran on electricity, meaning that a power outage was bad news for anyone who relied on an iron lung.  Jeanette was able-bodied by this time, so hospital staff set her and several other children to work manning the iron lungs until power was restored.  Jeanette got paired with a fifteen-year-old girl, and while she worked the two girls chatted back and forth until the power was restored.  Jeanette reported that the girl she helped did not survive her battle with polio, though she did survive the power outage.

Jeanette Hester became Jeanette Wright when she married army engineer James Willis Wright on May 22nd, 1949.

Of course there was a story behind that too.  The time frame between May 15th and May 22nd of that year saw a nasty tornado outbreak sequence, and on the 21st one particularly violent tornado caused a lot of trouble up in Cape Girardeau.  James and Jeanette were in downtown Malden shopping that night (on opposite sides of the same street, no less) when the storm came rumbling up from Arkansas.  Man and wife-to-be stepped out of their respective stores to watch the tumultuous storm, and both wondered if they'd survive to be married the next day.  Malden was blessed that night and did not get hit, but Cape Girardeau lost twenty-one people.

Survive the storm the couple did, and they went on to have three children.  Life was happy for the most part, though Jeanette did suffer one miscarriage during her fertile years, and a few years later a near-fatal blood clot.  The latter event was witnessed by First Uncle, who happened to be up early on a Saturday and was firmly told by his father to go back to bed.  The blood clot was caused by birth control pills.  PLEASE be careful with those if any of y'all use them!  Anyway, Jeanette lived as a housewife for most of her adult years.  James became a schoolteacher and later a principal, and thus the family had to move a lot, though the family was reportedly happiest at Piedmont, Missouri, which is indeed a lovely little town with lovely people.  Jeanette was loved and respected for her babysitting skills and for her beautiful singing voice, though she was a bit shy about singing in public.  The childhood burns had left some nasty scars, some of which were visible on Jeanette's neck, and she was always afraid people in the audience would stare at these scars.  Nevertheless Jeanette lent her voice to weddings, funerals, and church gatherings, and as far as I know no one noticed the scars...or they may simply have thought the scars were birthmarks, as I did when I was young.  But Jeanette was self-conscious about those scars for her whole adult life, even after she was out of the public eye.  During her years as a singer her sister Clara helped provide some on-stage support by playing the piano.

Neither of my uncles married or had children, and Mama married in her early thirties so my sister and I were Jeanette's only grandchildren.  She and Grandpa doted on us, giving us our first nicknames as children.  I had a prissy attitude when I was a toddler and subsequently earned the nickname "Duchess," while my sister was "Dumplin'."  Indeed, we were Duchess and Dumplin' up until Grandma had to go into the nursing home...and come to think of it, Grandma still called my sister "Dumplin'" when she asked about her schooling.  Anyway, Grandma and Grandpa served as babysitters and caregivers when Mama and Daddy were busy, providing us with clothes and toys during birthdays and Christmas, and with money during the college years.  Grandma insisted on putting both my sister and me through college ("I can't take it with me," she always said), but I always felt bad taking money from her.

Oh yes, Grandma also actively encouraged my doll collecting.  She provided Sister and me with American Girl dolls, and after Sister decided she didn't like dolls anymore Grandma kept me in them.  The first one she got for me was this one, a Swan Lake ballerina.  I think this Barbie is supposed to be Odette, but I named her "Margot" instead, after Dame Margot Fonteyn.  My Margot is friends with Steph and Poison Ivy (LOL).

Then came Astrid the flower fairy, a present for my sixteenth birthday.

Astrid resided in the gift shop of Dexter Hospital during an unpleasant period in 2003 when Grandpa had to have some heavy-duty surgery.  Everyone was in a bad mood, and this doll cheered me up quite a bit.

Next came Petronella, during the summer of 2004.

I was sick with a kidney stone, and Grandma had a cancer scare that summer so we spent a lot of time in and out of the hospital.  On the day that Grandma had to have one particularly unpleasant procedure I begged to go with my parents to the hospital, so severe was my cabin fever.  The cancer scare proved to be just a scare, and on the way home Grandma turned to me and said "Oh, by the way, I've got something for you at home."  Upon reaching her home Grandma presented me with this Gibson girl-style doll, whom I named Petronella.  Here's a closeup of her little face.  She usually wears glasses, but I took them off for this picture.

Maxine came along after both Daddy and Grandpa passed away.  She's a large flapper.

I'd spent the day up at Cape Girardeau with Grandma and with obnoxious Second Uncle, who on that day was hell-bent on having everything his way.  He wanted to eat Italian food or know the reason why.  He insisted on visiting Barnes and Noble three times.  He bought a chess set, even though he neither could afford it nor knows how to play.  Bottom line, I'd had just about enough of him by the time we were ready to leave West Park Mall.  Oh, did I also mention that he had a fit when I wanted to go into ONE lousy store???  He was ready to leave by then, and he huffed and he puffed and he pouted while I browsed said store.  The store had several Madame Alexander Alex dolls for sale, the first (and only) time that I'd ever seen Alex in person, and there was also Maxine.  When Grandma learned that I'd seen a doll I liked, she handed me a twenty-dollar bill and said "Go and get her!  If you don't I will!"  So that's how I ended up with Maxine.  Both Grandma and Mama fell in love with this face.

There were others that don't have interesting stories but are nonetheless well-loved.  There's Makayla...

...Oksana...

...Carrie-Anne...

...Rosalinda (left) and Holly...

...Bernadette...

...and several little Indians that I briefly donated to the library.  The little girl in blue ("Butterfly") is not one of the gifts (I bought her myself), but she looks good with the other little Native dolls.

Oh yes, how could I forget Yoshiko?  Grandma's sister Barbara and her husband were stationed in Okinawa during the Korean War, and Barbara sent this doll back as a gift.  Grandma kept her for many years, and now of course I have her.  Her name means "good child" or "joyful child."

There are others that I'm undoubtedly missing, as she kept me well supplied in dolls and doll clothes.  As y'all no doubt saw above most of the dolls Grandma gave to me are modern-day porcelain dolls, which are often derided among doll collectors as being garbage.  True, these girls have no resale value, but the sentiment behind them makes them special.  I'll treasure them and the memories they hold forever.  And hey, I haven't even touched on Shirley Temple yet.  Remember her?

Shirley's review can be found here (it contains some eerie foreshadowing), and the story behind her purchase can be found here.  She was a special little doll for Grandma.

Earlier this evening when I took the puppies out to do their business I saw a shooting star.  It wasn't a big one, just visible for a split second, but I did see it.  In some cultures shooting stars mean that a death has occurred, so I can't help wondering if the one I saw tonight was Grandma saying goodbye.  Maybe not, but the timing is a little uncanny.  Grandma will no doubt be missed, particularly during the upcoming wave of holidays since we always spent them at her house.  But she is out of pain, out of suffering, eternally in the arms of Jesus and in the presence of her beloved husband, her equally loved son-in-law (Daddy), her brothers, sisters, and parents, and the child she never got to know.  We as a family take solace in that.  

Please continue to pray for my family since members will be traveling in to pay their last respects.  If any of y'all would like to pay tribute to my grandmother (even though you didn't know her), give a small donation to the Shriners or to St. Jude's Hospital, two charities that Grandma always loved.

Very truly yours,

RagingMoon1987