Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Mary Minetta Louise Selby, December 17, 1916 - October 28, 2009

I'm once again writing to ask for your prayers and good thoughts.

My Grandma died this morning; she was nearly 93. It was not a surprise. She'd been fading for a while, especially since my grandfather died in August. She had been hospitalized while we were on vacation and finally diagnosed with congential heart failure. Right before we got back from California, she was moved into a nursing home, but she was there for under 3 weeks.

She'd been in and out of the hospital for the past 2 weeks; she was moved back to hospice care on Monday. My Mom was convinced that Grandma would die on her birthday, but Grandma held out for a few more hours. Her funeral will be on Monday in Napanee.

It has been a long time coming, but it's still hard to process. My Grandma was a total character, and she's always seemed...larger than life to me. I am going to want to process some of this by writing about my memories of her, so I'm sure that'll show up here.

Grandma outlived both of her husbands, and survived every member of her immediate family by at least 25 years. She nearly died of Thyphoid when she was in her early 20s; as it was, she had to relearn to walk and talk and read during her recovery. She was not afraid of hard work. She was a talker, a total extrovert (I wonder where I get that from?!?). She would never go out unless her hair was done and she'd put on 'her face' of cosmetics. She taught me to sew on an old Singer hand crank machine that had been her mother's. She beat breast cancer in her late 80s.

Her full name was Mary Minetta Louise (Hawley MacDonald) Selby. I love you, Grandma, and I'll miss you always.

6 comments:

  1. I'm sorry for your loss. It's hard when someone you love dies. She sounds like a character, and the typhoid recovery is very impressive!

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  2. Oh Sarah, I'm so sorry to hear about your grandmother. She sounds like she was a pistol, and I know she will be greatly missed.

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  3. I'm so sorry, Sarah. She sounds like the kind of old lady I hope I'll be. Hugs to you.

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  4. Oh Sarah, I'm so sorry for your loss. What a terrible year it's been for your family. You've had more than your fair share of bad times, so I hope that good times are on the horizon. Please let us know if we can do anything for you while you are away at the funeral (like feed the furry monsters, perhaps?) I'll just be 10 minutes away in the new house by then.

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  5. I just happened to click over from a comment on Jamie's blog. And I'm very sorry for your loss, and glad that you have had the richness of such a wonderful woman in your life for so long. It doesn't make it easier, but the memories are sweet to have.

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  6. Sarah, I'm so sorry. It's been a very rough year for you and your family - I'm keeping you all in my thoughts and really hoping that this is the end of it!

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