Category Archives: Grandma

Talking to You

If I said purple
You’d say red
With your brown hair tumbling
Like an unmade bed
Then we’d both die laughing
At something I said
Talking to you

I find my point
And you lose your sh*t
There’s just so much broken
That the words can’t fix
And the dawn is breaking
But I just can’t quit
Talking to you

I’ve seen a Jesus
Roller skating down Sunset
Watched a ballet of sprinklers
In the rain
But I know I’d go crazy
If I couldn’t get
To talk to you again
So if God takes me
And leaves you here
I want no black limousines
And no sad tears
‘Cause I’ll still be hanging around
The atmosphere
Talking to you

And no words or music
Can come even near
To talking to you

-Written by Gary Clark
-Performed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt

This is the final song I’m going to use as a journal title from FLORA AND SON. I haven’t discussed the story much yet. But here is the basic synopsis you would get from a rudimentary Google search:

Single mom Flora is at a loss about what to do with her rebellious teenage son, Max. Her efforts to keep him out of trouble lead to a beat-up acoustic guitar, a washed-up LA musician, and harmony for this frayed Dublin family.

FLORA AND SON has the basic theme of all John Carney films. A couple of down on their luck people find one another and put their lives back together by making music.

The movie stars Eve Hewson (Bono’s daughter) as Flora, who quite frankly is a terrible mom, who finally finds common ground wither her son Max (Oren Kinlan) when they bond over making music. Flora pulls a beat up old guitar out of a dumpster and tries to give it to Max. When he shuns her gift, she decides to learn how to play guitar in an attempt to win her ex back. She starts taking internet guitar lessons from Jeff (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) a somewhat washed up musician.

Through this meeting and through music, they start to put their lives back together. I don’t want to go more into the details of the movie cause I think you should watch it yourself. The movie currently streams on AppleTV+.

The song “Talking to You” isn’t the most important song in the movie. That is probably “Meet in the Middle” the song that Flora and Jeff write together or the song “High Life” that Flora, Max, Jeff, and her ex-Ian perform together at the end of the movie. In fact you could very easily miss “Talking to You”. Jeff references writing a song for Flora, but we never get to hear it… until the closing credits. That song… “Talking to You”.

But Thursday’s are for flowers. This flowertography session consists of flowers in my yard:


Girl in the Blue Skirt - 2023

Girl in the Blue Skirt - 2023

Girl in the Blue Skirt - 2023

Nature's Amen - 2023

Nature's Amen - 2023

Nature's Amen - 2023

Nature's Amen - 2023

Nature's Amen - 2023

Last Penny - 2023

Last Penny - 2023

Last Penny - 2023

Last Penny - 2023

Last Penny - 2023

Last Penny - 2023

Last Penny - 2023

Last Penny - 2023

Last Penny - 2023

Last Penny - 2023

Painted without Instruction -2022

Happiness Shared - 2023

Happiness Shared - 2023

The beautiful pink flowers belonged to my Mom and Grandma. They sit in two metal kettles. During the fall I take them down and store them in a dark place in my basement. This year I’m hoping to split the flowers in two of the kettles into 3 kettles so that Carla and Teresa can also have one. Will need to find a metal kettle for that though.

The next Thursday flowertography session will involve a song that actually does appear in FLORA AND SON, but it isn’t an original song. In fact it is a song that is over 50 years old. But I affiliate it with a movie that is only a few years old.

Rodan139: Bluff Creek Cemetery

Today is Shannon’s birthday, so I must say, happy birthday Shannon!


Day 253 - September 10, 2021

I hope your birthday is filled with all the amazement that you can handle!

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On Memorial Day I took Rodan139 to Boxholm, Pilot Mound and then finally to Bluff Creek Cemetery. I wasn’t really planning on going to Bluff Creek Cemetery, but it seemed fitting on Memorial Day. I was in the area. I had been to Bluff Creek Cemetery a couple times with my Mom and my Grandma (Majors) Paris. I honestly don’t know what relatives of mine are buried in Bluff Creek Cemetery besides that they are from my maternal grandma’s side. Which based on Bluff Creek Cemetery’s location, makes sense. The two closest “towns” to it are Incline and Centerville.

Here are the few pictures I took:


Rodan139: Bluff Creek Cemetery

Rodan139: Bluff Creek Cemetery

Rodan139: Bluff Creek Cemetery

Rodan139: Bluff Creek Cemetery

Rodan139: Bluff Creek Cemetery

Rodan139: Bluff Creek Cemetery

Rodan139: Bluff Creek Cemetery

Rodan139: Bluff Creek Cemetery

Rodan139: Bluff Creek Cemetery

Rodan139: Bluff Creek Cemetery

Rodan139: Bluff Creek Cemetery

Rodan139: Bluff Creek Cemetery

Rodan139: Bluff Creek Cemetery

If you zoom way in on the panoramic image, you can see the High Bridge.

There are only a few houses left in Centerville and even less left in Incline. But there are historical markers that recognize where they used to be.

2011-06-08

The pictures in the folder 2011-06-08 are from a time I went with my Mom over to my Grandma’s house to photograph some of her flowers. She always had beautiful flowers.


WEEK 22 - SHADOWS - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT

Whispering Beauty - 2011

Whispering Beauty - 2011

Whispering Beauty - 2011

Whispering Beauty - 2011

Whispering Beauty - 2011

Whispering Beauty - 2011

Whispering Beauty - 2011

Whispering Beauty - 2011

Whispering Beauty - 2011

Whispering Beauty - 2011

Whispering Beauty - 2011

Whispering Beauty - 2011

Whispering Beauty - 2011

Whispering Beauty - 2011

Whispering Beauty - 2011

Whispering Beauty - 2011

Whispering Beauty - 2011

Whispering Beauty - 2011

Whispering Beauty - 2011

Whispering Beauty - 2011

By adding these pictures to the Photography 139 Gallery, I was able to restore the following historic “An Artist’s Notebook” entries to their original glory:

RWPE Y2 #22 – SHADOWS

PERSONAL PHOTO PROJECT OF THE WEEK #76 ALPHA

PERSONAL PHOTO PROJECT OF THE WEEK #76 BETA

PERSONAL PHOTO PROJECT #76 GAMMA

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will involve THE 9 EMOTIONS PROJECT.

Mom’s Birthday

Today is my Mom’s birthday. I considered writing about what an amazing person she was and how she was so good at being a Mom that it still makes it hard for me to relate to people who had subpar parents. It just doesn’t calculate in my head what it would be like to have a Mom that wasn’t your biggest supporter, didn’t always put your needs before her needs, or always made sure that there was a roof over your head and delicious food in your stomach.

Instead of writing about her many merits, I decided instead to share some pictures from what was sorta (but not exactly) my parents’ wedding. I don’t know many of the people in the pictures and maybe only a few of them are still with us, but it is still an incredible snapshot in time that I want to share. A day of love shared between my Mom and my Dad:



Something I will tell you about these pictures is that they were taken in the old house at 415 Greene Street. The house I lived in from second grade until shortly after I got out of college. It is weird to see how in many ways, the house didn’t change much from the time of these pictures until we moved into that house twenty years later. That house was torn down a couple years ago.

Tama County Auxiliary Images – 2

Here is the final chapter in the storage of my Grandma Bennett’s brief third marriage:

Handschin Killer Commits Suicide At Reformatory

Sioux City, Feb. 15

Mrs. Martelle McPeek, 29 year-old blonde, who last January 11th shot her lover after being jilted, committed suicider early today in the woman’s reformatory at Rockwell City by hanging herself with a pair of cotton stockings.

Supt. Pauline Johnston said Mrs. McPeek was by a guard. The county coroner said Mrs. McPeek died of strangulation and that her neck was not broken.

Mrs. McPeek entered the institution January 27th. She had been sentenced to ten years when she pleaded guilty to a charge of second degree murder.

The charge against her was filed after the death of Maurics Handschin, 36-year-old packing house employee as a result of a bullet wound in the abdomen.

Formerly of Boone

The late Mr. Handschin was formerly of Boone and had married here only shortly before the fatal shooting. His underal services were held in this city.

Claimed by Husband

Rockwell City, Feb. 15

Mrs. Martelle M. McPeek, 29, committed suicide at the Iowa Women’s Reformatory, to which she was sentenced for 10 years for killing Maurice Handschin in Sioux City last January 11.

Mrs. McPeek’s body was found hanging from the top of a window. She had strangled herself to death with her stockings. Her husband, William McPeek of Sioux City claimed her body.

Handschin lived at the McPeek residence in Sioux City several years before leaving there to marry a Boone divorcee. Mrs. McPeek contended she had planned to divorce her husband and marry Handschin.

Here is a copy of the newspaper article:



While that concluded this episode of sharing some of my family history that I discover going through some genealogy stuff, it won’t be the last.

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This is the rest of the auxiliary images from my trip to Tama County to harvest their town signs. The highlight of this trip was the winding stairs in Traer.


Tama County - Clutier
Clutier

Tama County - Clutier

Tama County - Clutier

Tama County - Clutier

Tama County - Clutier

Tama County - Clutier

Tama County - Clutier

Tama County - Dysart
Dysart

Tama County - Traer
Traer

Tama County - Traer

Tama County - Traer

Tama County - Traer

Tama County - Traer

Tama County - Traer

Tama County - Traer

Tama County - Traer

Tama County - Traer

Tama County - Traer

Tama County - Traer

Tama County - Traer

Tama County - Traer

Tama County - Traer

Tama County - Traer

Tama County - Traer

Tama County - Traer

Tama County - Traer

Tama County - Traer

Tama County - Traer

Tama County - Traer

Tama County - Traer

Tama County - Traer

Tama County - Traer

Tama County - Traer

Tama County - Traer

Tama County - Lincoln
Lincoln

Tama County

Grundy County - Conrad
Conrad (Grundy County)

Grundy County - Conrad

Tama County - Garwin, Iowa
Garwin

Tama County - Garwin, Iowa

Tama County

So many auxiliary images still to go through, but that is it for Tama County.

Dropped

Here is Part 5 of the story of my Grandma Bennett’s brief third marriage.

Sentence in Shooting of M. Handschin

Sioux City Woman Given 10 Years At Women’s Reformatory at Rockwell City

Sioux City, Jan. 26 – Mrs. Martelle McPeek, 29, of Sioux City, today was under sentence of 10 years in the women’s reformatory at Rockwell City for the slaying of Maurice W. Handschin, 37, packinghouse worker.

Mrs. McPeek was sentenced late yesterday by Dist. Judge D.C. Browning, after she pleaded guilty to murder charges. The court decided the offense was second-degree murder.

Mrs. McPeek confessed shooting Handschin on January 11 because he had married another woman after promising to marry her.

She testified that Handschin, who died late Wednesday of a bullet wound through his abdomen, had threatened to beat her after his return from Boone with his bride the former Mrs. Berniece Kessler, mother of a 7 year-old daughter.

Mrs. McPeek said that after friends told her of Handschin’s threats, she changed the door locks on her home where Handschin had been a roomer for six years.

Following the shooting, William McPeek, the accused woman’s husband, filed suit for $130 room rent against Handschin.

Here is the newspaper article:



I will share Part 6, the final part, of this story on Sunday.

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Back earlier in the year, I had an idea for decorating my hallway with a photomosaic self-portrait. I have since abandoned this photo project, but thought I would share some of the self-portraits I took that were test shots for what would be the base image for the photomosaic that will never exist.


Abandoned Photomosaic

Abandoned Photomosaic

Abandoned Photomosaic

Abandoned Photomosaic

At some point, I might try a different photomosaic project, but it won’t be in my hallway.

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This is your reminder that this week’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is ARCHITECTURE:


WEEK 306 - ARCHITECTURE
ARCHITECTURE

Architecture! What a great theme for Year 8 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE.

But what is an ARCHITECTURE image? Simply put ARCHITECTURE photography is the photographing of structures. Buildings mostly, but there are other types of structures. Bridges. Towers. Bleachers. Try to capture a beautiful construction or parts of it in an interesting way.

Think on the following quote when you think about creating your ARCHITECTURE image:

Even a brick wants to be something.
-Louis Kahn

Happy photo harvesting!

(I’m So) Afraid Of Losing You Again

Here is Part 4 of the story of my Grandma Bennett’s brief third marriage.

M. Handschin Funeral Rites Here Jan. 25th

Native of Boone Died in Sioux City
Formerly Employed by North Wester R. R.

Relatives, neighbors and friends paid their final respects to the memory of the late Maurice W. Handschin at funeral services held here Sunday afternoon. Dr. Edwin A. Briggs was in charge of brief rites at Schroder’s funeral home, followed by the main service at First Methodist church.

His text was Psalms 23:4 “Yes, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff comfort me.:

A solo, “Beautiful Dreamer” was sung by Mrs. Kenneth McIlvain. The hymn “The City Foursquare” was sung by a male quarter, H.J. Van Ness, Ken Goodrich, Kenneth Hakes and L.R. Johnson. Royal Duckworth accompanied the singers at the organ.

In charge of floral tributes were Mrs. Thomas Ogilvie, Mrs. E.R. Byers, Miss Leone Stiner and Mrs. Kenneth Crawford.

Pall bearers were Albert Hatt, Boyd Rothman, Levi Van Meter, Melvin Shadock, Glendon Johnson and Maurice Cox.
Internment was in Linwood Park cemetery, east.

Born in Boone

Maurice William Handschin, son of Adolph and Mertil Handschin, was (b)orn in Boone, IA, May 6, 1903 and passed away in a hospital at Sioux City, Ia., at 11:00 p.m. Wednesday, January 24, 1940.

He received his education in the Boone schools and for years was employed by the Chicago & Northwester in Boone, Ia., In 19933 he was moved to Sioux City where he was employed by the Swift Packing company.

His Survivors.

December 31, 1939, he was united in marriage to Mrs. Bernice Kessler. He was baptized on January 23, 1940.

Those who remain to mourn his passing are his wife, Norman Lee, a son by former marriage; a step-daughter, Barbara, and five sisters, Mrs. Ralph Spratt, Mrs. Carl Westberg of Boone; Mrs. Clarence Ades of Des Moines, Ia.; Mrs. Art Howd of Webster City, Ia., and Mrs. Ollie Mabee of Parker, S. D., and three brothers, Warren of Boone, Ia., Art of St. Paul, Minn., and Harry of Oregon, and also a number of nieces and nephews.

Here is the newspaper article:



I will share Part 5 of this story tomorrow.

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Here is another collection of pictures from my Mom’s yard. I took these on April 24, 2021. Almost exclusively tulips, but one picture of a peony in there.


Whispering Beauty - 2021

Still Laughing - 2021

Still Laughing - 2021

Still Laughing - 2021

Still Laughing - 2021

Still Laughing - 2021

Still Laughing - 2021

Still Laughing - 2021

Still Laughing - 2021

Still Laughing - 2021

Still Laughing - 2021

Still Laughing - 2021

Still Laughing - 2021

So many more flower photos left to share!

Tama County Auxiliary Images – 1

Here is Part 3 of the brief third marriage of my Grandma Bennett. This article is in particularly bad shape, so there is some guessing with what it says.

Handschin, Formerly of Boone, Dies After Being Shot, Sioux city.

A (man) shot by a jealous woman at Sioux City the night of January 11, Maurice (Mose) Handschin, 37, formerly of Boone, died at 11 o’clock Wednesday night in a hospital at the northwest Iowa city.

His remains are being accompanied to this city by his wife to whom he was married here shortly after the first of the year. Funeral services and interment will be in Boone, the body to arrive late Thursday.

Handschin was born and grew up here, leaving about 10 years ago for Sioux City where he had been employed by the Swift packing. (Handschin) at one time was a North Western employee here.

A number of his three surviving brothers and five surviving sisters reside here. The survivors are Warren Handschin of Boone, Art Handschin of Minneapolis and Harry Handschin of Oregon, Mesdames Ralph Spratt and Carl Westberg of Boone. Clarence Ades of Des Moines, Art Howd of Webster City and Ollie Mabee of Parker, S.D.

Sioux City, Jan. 25 – First degree murder charges were filed in Sioux City today against Mrs. Martelle McPeek, as the result of the death last night of Maurice W. Handschin of a bullet wound.

Chief of Detectives Tom Farley said Mrs. McPeek signed a statement that she shot Handschin on January 11 when (learned he had married another woman).

Mrs. McPeek (was jailed on an open charge since the shooting, which occurred inside the home of Handschin and his bride of a few days. fired two shots, one entering Handschin’s abdomen. A physician said death was caused by infection in the blood stream. The bullet tore seven holes in his intestines and stomach. (Coroner said an autopsy would be held later today.)

Handschin had been living with Mr. and Mrs. Mcpeek six years and for most of that time, according to investigating authorities, he and Mrs. McPeek had carried on a love affair with the knowledge of her husband.

At Christmas time, Handschin left Sioux City, saying he was going to remarry his former wife. He returned shortly after New Years with a Mrs. Handschin who was not his former wife but a Boone divorcee, Mrs. Bernice Kessler, with a 7 year-old daughter.

On the night of the shooting, Mrs. McPeek was driven to the couple’s home by a friend, Bud Ackerly, and forced open the door when Mrs. Handschin answered her knock. When Ackerly heard the shots he ran in and seized Mrs. McPeek’s pistol and called the police.

Born in Boone

Mrs. McPeek said she planned to obtain a divorce and marry Handschin.

Several days after the shooting, McPeek filed a petition for a landlord’s attachment against Handschin seeking a judgment for $150 unpaid room rent.

Handschin was born at Boone on May 6, 1903 and had lived in Sioux City for six years. Survivors include a son, Norman.

Here is the newspaper article:



Part 4 of the story tomorrow.

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This is a reminder that today is the deadline to enter the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest.


Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest Flyer - 2021

If the Boone County Fair Photo Contest that I just judged on Saturday is any indication, we might be desperate for entries. Therefore the deadline is somewhat of a “soft deadline”. However, I wouldn’t push it more than a week.

To download the rules and entry form, click on the link below:

Entry Form

Good luck!

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Today seems like a good day to share some of the auxiliary images I took while harvesting the town signs of Tama County:


Tama County - Tama
Tama

Tama County - Toledo
Toledo

Tama County - Toledo

Tama County - Toledo

Tama County - Toledo

Tama County - Toledo

Tama County - Toledo

Tama County - Toledo

Tama County - Toledo

Tama County - Toledo

Tama County - Toledo

Tama County - Toledo

Tama County - Toledo

Tama County - Toledo

Tama County - Toledo

Tama County - Toledo

Tama County - Chelsea
Chelsea

Tama County - Chelsea

Tama County - Chelsea

Tama County - Chelsea

Tama County - Chelsea

Tama County

Tama County

Tama County - Vining
Vining

Tama County - Vining
So many all-you-can-eat testicles eaten in this building!

Tama County - Vining

Tama County - Elberon
Elberon

Tama County - Elberon

Tama County - Elberon

Tama County - Clutier
Clutier

Tama County - Clutier

Tama County - Clutier

Tama County - Clutier

There is still one more collection of images from Tama County left to share!

2010-08-01

EDITOR’S NOTE: I WROTE THIS POST BEFORE MY MOM PASSED AWAY, BUT I DON’T HAVE THE HEART TO CHANGE THE TEXT.

The grand majority of pictures from the album are from my Mom’s Retirement Party. The other one if from Dickcissel.

I haven’t looked at the pictures from the Retirement Party in years and while it is sad that a few of the people in the pictures aren’t with us any longer, it still gives me a sense of joy to look through them again.


WEEK 30 - REFLECTIONS - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT

Mom's Retirement Party

Mom's Retirement Party

Mom's Retirement Party

Mom's Retirement Party

Mom's Retirement Party

Mom's Retirement Party

Mom's Retirement Party

Mom's Retirement Party

Mom's Retirement Party

Mom's Retirement Party

Mom's Retirement Party

Mom's Retirement Party

Mom's Retirement Party

Mom's Retirement Party

Mom's Retirement Party

Mom's Retirement Party

Mom's Retirement Party

Mom's Retirement Party

Mom's Retirement Party

Mom's Retirement Party

Mom's Retirement Party

Mom's Retirement Party

Mom's Retirement Party

Mom's Retirement Party

Mom's Retirement Party

Mom's Retirement Party

Mom's Retirement Party

Mom's Retirement Party

Mom's Retirement Party

Mom's Retirement Party

Mom's Retirement Party

Mom's Retirement Party

Mom's Retirement Party

My Mom will turn 80 next year. I hope we are able to have as large of a party for her then as we did when she retired.

By adding these pictures to the Photography 139 Gallery, I was able to restore the following historic “An Artist’s Notebook” entries to their original glory:

Retired

RWPE #30 – REFLECTIONS

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will involve flowers.

Mom Video Pictures

When we met with the funeral home to plan my Mom’s funeral, they told us to bring them some pictures so that they could put together a video to play in 3 places during her visitation. I asked how many pictures and they said around 35. I asked what if we could do more than that. They said the max was 50. They didn’t want the video to go too long as they wanted people to keep moving as much as they would. Plus most families don’t even have that many pictures.

I did a cursory look around and without digging too deep my initial collection of pictures was around 140. I went through them with Alexis and Elainie and we were able to trim it down to about 51. Here is a collection of the images from Mom’s Visitation Video and an explanation of why it made the video.


Visitation Video
Mom with Great Granddaughter Anela

Visitation Video
Mom with Great Granddaughter Dahlia

Visitation Video
Mom with Great Granddaughter Anela

Visitation Video
Mom at the Stensland Family Photoshoot in 2020

Visitation Video
Mom picking up Dahlia

Visitation Video
Mom’s Baby Picture

Visitation Video
Mom, Logan, and I after making grape jelly last September.

Visitation Video
Last Family Portrait from 2017.

Visitation Video
Picture I took of Mom while Testing Lights

Visitation Video
Mom with Teresa, Carla, and I at her Retirement Party

Visitation Video
Mom with Teresa and I at a Cyclone Women’s Basketball Game

Visitation Video
Logan taking a Picture of Mom with one of Dad’s Lenses

Visitation Video
Mom and I at the Badlands

Visitation Video
Mom Feeding the Feral Donkeys at Custer State Park

Visitation Video
Mom being Honored as a Cancer Survivor before an Iowa State’s Women’s Basketball Game

Visitation Video
Mom with Logan after his Graduation from Iowa State

Visitation Video
Mom with Carla and I at the Indianola Balloon Festival

Visitation Video
Mom with Johnathan and I at an Iowa State Women’s Basketball Game

Visitation Video
Mom Modeling a Shirt Teresa Made her at an Iowa State Women’s Basketball Game

Visitation Video
Mom with Alexis, Carla, and Anela

Visitation Video
Mom at an Iowa State Women’s Basketball Game with Elainie and Sabas

Visitation Video
Mom with Alexis, Carla, Elainie, Grandma, and Kanoa

Visitation Video
Mom with Dahlia

Visitation Video
Mom with Alexis and Kupono at an Iowa State Women’s Basketball Game

Visitation Video
Mom with Kanoa

Visitation Video
Mom with Dad, Carla, and Teresa at Christmas 1971

Visitation Video
Mom Graduation Picture

Visitation Video
Mom Celebrating a Cyclone 3!

Visitation Video
Mom Taking a Picture of one of my Iowa State Fair Photography Salon Entries

Visitation Video
Mom Planting Flowers at My House

Visitation Video
Mom with Me, Teresa, and Carla down by the Des Moines River

Visitation Video
Mom with Teresa at the 415 Greene House

Visitation Video
Mom in the Rocky Mountains

Visitation Video
Mom with Me in the Rocky Mountains

Visitation Video
Mom School Picture

Visitation Video
Mom with Dad – their Wedding Picture

Visitation Video
Mom with her Grandkids – Johnathan, Alexis, Logan, Elainie, and Brandon

Visitation Video
Mom at the Oklahoma City Memorial – Alexis and Elainie really wanted this picture in because they have so many memories of Mom taking pictures with that little silver camera that I gave her.

Visitation Video
Mom with her Grandsons – They wanted this picture in because while they were supposed to be out their helping her, she was the one doing the work.

Visitation Video
Mom at Grandma’s 90th Birthday Party

Visitation Video
This was one of the Last Pictures I took of Grandma and Mom

Visitation Video
Mom with her Siblings at Grandma’s 90th Birthday Party

Visitation Video
Mom in her Living Room with her Family – Thanksgiving 2015

Visitation Video
Mom and I at Mount Rushmore

Visitation Video
Mom with her Friends at Church

Mom's Phone
Mom with her Siblings and their Spouses and Grandma

Mom's Phone
Mom with Elainie and Carla at the Lincoln Memorial

Mom's Phone
Mom with Carla at the Atlantic Ocean

Mom's Phone
Mom with Carla on the Beach in Virginia

Visitation Video
They Concluded the Video with this Picture of Mom Serving Communion

Visitation Video
This is the Last Picture I ever took of Mom – We were at the John Wayne Museum – She loved John Wayne Westerns, but not his war movies. What you can’t tell from the picture is that she is wearing a shirt with the names of her 4 Great Grandchildren on it. It had become one of her favorite shirts and she seemed to wear it on all of our most recent road trips.

I have more tributes to my Mom to share. But the remaining ones will be more words than pictures.

Thank you again for all the thoughts, prayers, support, and everything else that you guys have given my family during these times.