Great-Grandma Brown

My dad's mom passed away this weekend. It was very bitter sweet. I haven't been to Koosharem to see her in quite a while so I felt so bad about that. The good part is that for about 29 years she has been missing her sweetheart terribly. Her health hasn't been the best for years and so it is good to know she is no longer in pain.
My grandma was so incredibly amazing. She had 10 kids and raising them in Koosharem is not the easiest life. Because there wasn't a close high school the kids would go live in Richfield during their high school years. I can't even begin to think about letting my kids leave me at that age. She could do anything including feed people. I remember every time we went to visit her mind wouldn't be eased until we accepted her invitation to eat something; a meal, a slice of bread, a cookie, or ice cream.
As a young child I have fond memories of Grandmas house:

• We always played house under her huge kitchen table. It's legs made sections on the floor and so my cousins and I would each have our own 'room.'
• Another fond memory was playing in the corals behind her house. We would set on the old wood fences and pretend to watch rodeos.
• I also loved her matchbox car village. She had a huge canvas cloth that she had drawn a town on. We would spread it out and play cars for hours.
• Another fun thing we'd do with the cousins was pretend we were singers. Grandma's closet curtains were sheer fabric and we'd go behind them and come out when it was our turn to sing. "Elvira", "Counting Flowers on the Wall," or anything from the Oakridge Boys were the common songs.
• My mom wouldn't buy SpaghettiOs very often but Grandma always had them in her pantry. I think it drove my mom crazy but I'm sure every time I weaseled my way into getting SpaghettiOs with a slice of bread and butter. Grandma made sure I was taken care of-- even if it was spoiling me.

The last memory has lasted throughout my life. Grandma has created a HUGE legacy of family love. Everyone tries to go to any family get-together we have. There are tons of people but we all genuinely love each other. I have cousins that I consider some of my best friends. I'm sure Grandma had a huge effect on that. I'll miss her tons but I know our family will always stay connected even though she's not here with us.

This picture was taken at our annual Easterin' trip in 2007. Grandma loved to eat 'squirrel surprise' and share it with the great-grandkids.