While spending time together this week celebrating my
sister’s birthday, the three of us siblings - Judy, Dean and me - decided to
visit two special people from our past.
Our grandparents, Nonny and Carly, gave all three of us some of our most
cherished childhood memories. For me,
they served as role models in the art of grandparenting. Because of their influence, I am constantly
thinking of ways to build good memories into the lives of my own grandchildren.
Carly died when we were quite young, in 1961. He was barely in his fifties when he
succumbed to his fourth and final heart attack. Nonny lived until 2002, when she passed away at the age of 94.
Judy, Dean and I spent over two hours this week strolling
through the cemetery before we finally stopped to pay tribute to Nonny and
Carly in the final resting place of their cremated remains.
Following our visit to the cemetery, we drove by the house
where Nonny and Carly lived while we
were growing up. A lady was standing at
the door as we drove by and Judy wanted to go to her door and talk to her. Dean pulled the car to the curb, Judy went
to the front door and met Susan, the lady who now owns the house. Within minutes Susan invited all three of us
in to see Nonny and Carly’s old house again.
The inside and outside were completely remodeled and
re-landscaped. But as we stood in the
living room, some of our fondest memories came flooding into our minds and some
tears began to flow.
Susan was delighted to learn from us some of the history behind her house. While we were all in the backyard, we asked Susan if she would take a picture of the three of us, then we thanked her for her hospitality, promised to send her some old photos of how the house and yard once looked, then we left.
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| Judy, Dean and I stand in the backyard of Nonny and Carly's house for the first time in about forty years. |
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| The same two sides of the house are seen in this photo taken over fifty years ago. Dean, standing at the head of the table, is enjoying his birthday party while I, on the far left, join the rest of the birthday crowd. |
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| The three of us were there while the house was being built. Here we stand on the floor surrounded only by the 2x4 framing. |
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| The picturesque living room windows are among the great features of this house. Most of the house has changed since we were kids, but these windows have remained unchanged. |
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| Judy stands in the backyard with our great-grandmother (Nonny's mother), Nan. Nan used to tell us great stories such as how, as a child, her family moved from Wisconsin to Kansas in a covered wagon. |
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| On a sad day in 1961, friends and family gathered in the backyard following Carly's funeral. |
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| Dean (on the chair) and I (on the lounge) are among those who gathered after Carly's funeral. |
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| Nonny and Carly's backyard was adorned with a table that Carly built around a walnut tree. |
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| I was able to help with the grilling. |
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| Judy sits in a chair with the same walnut tree in the background. |
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| From left to right are Nonny, Carly and Uncle Bob. |
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| Carly spearheaded a neighborhood movement in which all the neighbors went to great lengths to decorate their homes for Christmas. Ultimately, their street was known as Christmas Tree Lane and Carly, dressed in his Santa suit, would sit beside his sleigh and hand out candy to children in the cars of the bumper-to-bumper traffic that would visit this event each year. |
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| One of our most memorable events was when Nonny and Carly took us camping to Yosemite. Carly rented a trailer for the trip. |
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| Nonny, on the left, entertains some friends. The big brick fireplace no longer exists and has been replaced with a modern steel-front fireplace. |
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| Dean and I sit on Santa's lap on the hearth. We knew that Santa was really Carly. |
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| This week, Judy, Dean and I, strolled through the historic cemetery adjacent to the newer cemetery where Nonny and Carly's remains are kept. |
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| Carl M. Bell (1908-1961) rests beside Lura B. Bell (1908-2002). |
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| Paying tribute. |
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| Thank you, Nonny and Carly. |
