S/O What is/was so special about your grandmother(s)?

The only grandparent I can remember is my maternal grandmother and she was definitely the matriarch of the family. She was Finnish, but the first of her family to be born in the US. She had an accent, but I didn't even realize it until a friend pointed it out. We called her "Mum"--with the U sounding like the U in the word push, which is an abbreviated version of the Finnish word for grandmother--"Mumma" I spent so much time with her and in the summers spent most days at her house while my single mom worked. We'd watch "The Price is Right" and "The Young and the Restless" together every day. She taught me how to play cards and I could play most games by the time I was 5-6. She'd do spelling bees and guessing games with me. She had a ribald sense of humor and everyone loved her. Even though she had much tragedy in her life, she was always happy and singing and loved her grandchildren fiercely. I was the baby and the only girl, so we had a special relationship. I was 22 when she died and wish desperately that we had more time together. I often say her little sayings and jokes, and my favorite quote by her, which she said often, was "Count the day lost if you haven't laughed."

I never knew my maternal grandmother As she died when I was a baby. I was blessed however to have my paternal grandmother in my life until I was 25. She had a very hard life but never complained and was so warm and loving to my sister and I. She was born one of 19 children and when she was just a child herself she was given the job of helping raise one of her younger brothers. She married at 19 but for several years, even after she had a couple of little ones herself she had to go and help her mother everyday.

She had five boys and one daughter. When her youngest was a month old and the oldest 12, my grandfather died during the 1918 flu epidemic. My grandmother had very little formal education and at that time there really was little work for a woman unless she was a teacher. In order to take care of her family she took in laundry during the day and cleaned the high school at night My dad said that it broke his heart to see her work so hard and yet the only time he ever saw it get her down was one Christmas Eve and he found her crying because all she had as a gift for her kids was a orange for each of them.

She loved her only daughter so much and it was heartbreaking for her when her daughter died during childbirth along with the baby.

She remarried when most of the children were grown to a man that was good to her and had a few years where her life was happy. However when her husband died she found out that he left everything to his children from his first marriage and they told her she had to move out of her house within a week and all she was allowed to take were her personal things and clothes. They were all well off, one was a brain surgeon, and none of them had any need for the house but they didn't care. She moved in with us and we loved having her so much. We lived in a tiny two bedroom house so she had to share a room with my sister and I but she took it in her stride and we spent many nights laying in bed talking and laughing together.

She taught me so much but the main thing was that it is up to you how you can take the bad things that happen to you and let them destroy you or you can learn from them and make your life better. She was a master at making it better. She died a year after I was married, so that has been 59 years and I still miss her and would love to be able to lay in the dark and laugh with her again.

My grandmother raised me most of my life while my mom worked. I called her Meme . Meme was born on a little family farm in Water Valley, Mississippi. She was snake bitten at the spring when she was five years and nearly died, so she decided early on that farm life wasn't for her. She took the train to Memphis as fast as she could when she came of age. She was a tall beauty with silver blonde hair and pretty brown eyes. She was also incredibly independent, which was fitting for a lady born on Independence Day. Meme developed dementia late in life and couldn't remember my name, but told me "I know you. I know those pretty eyes". It still makes my heart ache. I miss her every day.

I love your story Shelby. What a woman your grandma was! ❤️

We have and it has proved impossible. He would be around 80 if still alive. However, a few of us in the family have done the Ancestry DNA thingy, so that may throw something up. All we know is that he was born in Le Havre. 

My grandmother was an RN since the early1900’s. As I spent a lot of time in hospitals, I thought nurses were the greatest ever. ( still do 😘). She represented safety and care, and everything I craved as a child. She lived to 99 1/2 and just died 2 years ago.

My paternal grandmother left her very Mormon small town when she was 17 and it was 30 degrees below to start a new life in California. She was pregnant with my Dad, and we’re pretty sure his Dad was a Basque sheepherder. She was a devoted wife and mother and by the time I knew her a very serious lady. But she loved the outdoors and made the best gumdrop cookies ever.

I never really knew either of my grandmothers, one lived too far away to visit and the other one (who lived around the corner!) made it perfectly clear we weren't to visit as she had her own life and it didn't include us (me and my 3 brothers)
I love my husband's grandma, she's always overjoyed to see us and makes me so welcome. She calls me her grown-up grandchild as I'm the same age as her children! She's crafty and artistic and a lot of fun.

My grandmas were both really strong women.

My maternal grandmother (Grandma) was a writer, and the president of the garden club. That sounds pretty innocuous, but in the 1950s it was a very powerful position in town. She ruled the place. She and my grandfather were academics, and passed along their love for reading. She was the BEST cook, and I use her recipes all the time. She was so loving with my sisters and cousins and me -- she always had us out in the garden or out in the woods for a walk, or a cuddle. She was 45 when I was born, and I had her until my 20s. She had a slow decline into Alzheimers, which was so sad to see because she was a brilliant woman.

My paternal grandmother was a beauty queen, and loved pretty things. She was always giving us silver bangles or little pearl rings or other jewelry. She always seemed so glamorous to me. She had my mom and my aunt when she was first married, then my three uncles in her 40s. They were more like cousins to me, because we were only a few years apart. She went back to school when they were babies and worked as a nurse in a state hospital. She was very cool and was very active until she died at 81. She and my mom didn't get along very well, but she was a fun grandma to my sisters and me.

I never knew my maternal gma, she died when my mom was a young girl.

My paternal grandma - WOW - she chewed snuff - alwasy kept a spittoon near by, she drank ecker & becker beer. She was married 3 times, had 6 kids with first husband (including my Dad), had 3 with her second husband so 9 kids total. Had 0 kids with her 3rd husband who I considered my gpa.

She died when she was in her early 60's - I was 14. My Aunt has told me some wild stories, my Gma was a bad ass considering her generation! She was born in 1909, only her youngest daughter is still alive.

Oh anniebygaslight, that is so sad.

My paternal grandmother died 11 months before I was born. She had a hard life as a child. Her mother and her mother’s lover committed suicide together. It was a huge scandal for a small town. Many people were mean the my grandmother and her sister due to the scandal. I have been told that she was a sweet and caring person. My Dad thought the world of her.

My maternal grandmother just passed away a few years ago. I was born when she was 40 years old. She was a strong independent woman who spoke her mind. I loved her dearly.

My maternal grandma was "my" grandma. My paternal grandma was my sister's grandma. That all came about because my paternal grandma was so overly loving to my older sister, that my maternal grandmother made up for it with me! She was a gem! My paternal grandma loved me too, but she absolutely spoiled my sister!! (no hard feelings at all--it was what it was!) Some people just can't help it. My father was an only child, so his first child was her pride and joy. It never really bothered me!!

My maternal grandma was such a lovely lady. She was a widow before I was even born, and she lived in a maid's quarters of a big house. (she wasn't the maid, she rented the rooms. It was a small corner kitchen, one room--that served as living room in the day, and a bedroom (couches) at night. The couch I slept on when I visited opened up to a big bed--the one my grandma slept on was a couch. She had a bathroom room, and a big closet that held all her nighttime bedding, and her "grip" where she kept her make up and stuff. She always spent about an hour every morning putting on her make up, and "doing" her hair. That part never wore off on me!! She was very crafty, a great gardener, she loved to fish, and go on the boat with our family. She taught me card games, and we played them when I visited. I loved spending time with her. She was VERY poor but never complained. She sold her handmade goods door to door to make money. I remember when I was about 5 or 6 she got into a car accident (with my sister, me, and a friend of my sister's were in the car). My father was furious, and wouldn't fix her car for her (so it didn't get fixed because she had no money). The accident wasn't her fault--a car hit us that didn't stop at a stop sign. I always felt bad for her because, after that, she was dependent on someone else (my mom mostly) to get to doctors, or shop, or anything else. She wasn't in good health. She had chf, and had to wrap her legs ever morning with ace bandages to help prevent swelling. She hated that because it "looked" funny. She always read us things from the bible and sang spiritual songs to my sister and I. I have her worn bible. When she was sick, she always stayed with us. She had a few strokes, but no lasting effects from them. I always loved it when she stayed with us! She died when I was 10. It was my first experience with the death of anybody close. I thought my world had ended. I loved her so.

My paternal grandmother lived over an hour away, so we didn't see her as much as my other grandma. She was married to the only grandpa I ever knew. My blood grandpa died about 2 weeks before my mom and dad got married. My father didn't really like my step-grandpa (which I didn't know he was a "step" until I grew up!) I guess he was a "dandy" I found out much later!! (a Dandy was a guy that thought he was IT, and liked the ladies a little too much) I had no idea. My grandmother's sister told me that years later!! He was always loving and kind to my sister and I. He had been married before, and had children and grandchildren of his own, but my grandma never claimed them has "hers"! My sister and I were her ONLY grandchildren! They lived right across the street from his previous wife, and my grandma and her were very good friends, and we even called her Aunt Erma!! We played with her granddaughter like she was one of us. My grandfather had a horse, which was wonderful, so when we visited we always got to ride the horse which was so much fun. My grandma was a great cook, pies were her speciality. I wasn't "into" pies, though! She was always very proud of her accomplishments. She loved doing cross-word puzzles. She wasn't as "hands on" as my other grandma. She'd do her crosswords, while we played with tinkertoys. My grandfather died when I was 7 and my grandma stayed alone in that house for a couple of years, but would call my father a lot about fixing something or another, or doing her lawnwork or something--and since she lived so far away, and my father had his own business to run, he couldn't run up there to cut her lawn all the time. The time came for her to sell the house, and move closer so he could help her more. Well, she ended up living with an Aunt about 7 miles from us. The Aunt was actually related to her first husband--and she owned a busines. My grandmother worked there! My aunt took in everybody at different times. She was a wonderful lady!! They lived together for many years--until my aunt died. (my father died when I was 14), but my mom always made sure my grandma was taken care of. The aunt died after my mom had remarried, so when my grandma was left again, my mom found her a little apartment fairly close to where she was living, so she could help her. They were always very close. That grandma never learned how to drive, so she was very dependant on others!! I had the first great grandchildren, and my grandma LOVED them to the max!! I'm glad she lived long enough to enjoy them a bit--even though we lived in a different state by then!! We had her come for Christmas one year, and had a good time with her. I doubt my two remember she was there though. I think my son was about 6 years old when my grandma died. Daughter was 4, and we hadn't seen her for awhile, as we were in California by then, and she was in Michigan.

I had a storybook grandma. She lived three doors from us and my sister and I spent a lot of time with her. She was tall, beautiful and elegant. She had perfect manners and I never heard her raise her voice. She was very affectionate and hugged and kissed us a lot as did my dad, her son. Anything we wanted she moved heaven and earth to get for us.

She was always baking cookies or something sweet. She was a member of the Blue Star Mothers and had a huge group of women friends. They had a lot of formal events so she had several long fancy formals (back in the 50s). She would let me and my sister dress up in her formals, with a belt to hitch up the length and we would dance and dance in her living room.

Her best accomplishment was raising my dad as a single mother. He was the best father that I could ever have asked for and I am very fortunate to have had him. She died when I was sixteen and it is a rare day when I don't think about her and miss her.