My grandma was a strong willed woman, but she had a soft heart. That's something I'd like to say I've inherited from her. That, and her love of writing and reading anything she could get her hands on.
Anyway, let me begin -- In 1999, my grandma finally made it to Ireland, where her family is originally from. She was too nervous and thought it would be too bold to introduce herself to her relatives there, the closest being a first cousin once removed (in English, her father's cousin). Her name is Mary Daly, by the way, and she lives in Cahersiveen in County Kerry, Ireland, and I've had the good fortune to have met her. She has to be the sweetest woman anyone has ever met, so it's really sad my grandma never had the chance to meet her face to face, although they did correspond through snail mail letters once they did finally connect. Luckily, my great aunt Liz met her when she went to Ireland. And my grandma did get the chance to meet one of Mary Daly's children, Bernadette, who I have met, as well. Bernadette and my grandma are actually quite similar, in my mind. For one, they both use the word "lovely," which kind of makes me smile. "Lovely" is as common a word as "great" to Americans, in Ireland, is what I thought.
Let's go further back (ahem): my grandma's grandma (my great-great grandmother) was the one who emigrated from Ireland, in the late 1800s. Bridget Moriarty was her name, as a matter of fact. As a result, grandma grew up hearing about County Kerry, Ireland, where Bridget was born. My great-grandpa Parker, her son, was born in the USA, though, in the early 1900s. He married my great-grandma Elizabeth O'Keefe, then, in the 1920s. They were absolutely crazy for each other. They ended up having four children, and my grandma was the oldest. After her were Tom, Jerry, and Elizabeth AKA Betty Ann. Fourteen years separate the siblings.
Even though grandma was a caretaker, that’s not the only quality of hers that’s worth mentioning. She was a strong-willed woman, and I know she wouldn't want me to stand here and cry while I pay tribute to her, so I'm drumming up courage from her strength to help me.
Back to what I was saying, I met my Irish relatives in 2009. After my trip, I called my grandma long-distance, from where I was living, in Spain. I was a bit nervous to call my grandma, if only because I hadn’t spoken to her in months apart from the postcards I sent her whenever I could. I last saw her at my brother Patrick's wedding. Luckily for me, she was rather upbeat at the time and my spirits lifted to hear the excitement apparent in her voice by hearing my voice. She was thrilled to hear about my time in Ireland, and more than happy to give me her own details about the Parker family, seeing how I never got the opportunity to meet my great grandpa Parker and I barely remember my great grandma Parker, even though she lived to be 96 and she died only 6 years ago. She gave me the details about her current situation at home and with the family, but she seemed more interested in hearing about my life. She was equally eager to share with me any details I asked about the Parker family and her fond memories of her parents and her Irish grandmother. My Great Aunt Betty Ann was equally generous in providing details about the Parker family, I should probably add. Anyway, during that phone call, grandma and I ended up talking for a long time, and I remember even volunteering information to her about my life that she was open to discuss. That's one of the things that I loved about her, was you could springboard an idea off her and she didn't seem to be too fazed by much, she'd give her thoughts and even offer to say a prayer for me.
Sadly, that was the last time I got to chat with G'ma. That's literally how I referred to her when I'd write her, "g-ma," which she seemed to think was funny, seeing how she laughed at that on the phone when she brought it up. I never had nicknames for my grandparents like "nana" or anything silly, that was just what I wrote out of laziness and to fit "Dear Grandma and Grandpa" at the top of a postcard.
Well, that's a brief run through about my thoughts of my grandma. I know I didn't see her all that much compared to the rest of my aunts, uncles and cousins seeing how she lived in Chicago and I've been a rolling stone, but I did gather moss because I'm a member of this family that others may envy. In any case, we'll miss her.
Rest in peace, grandma. We love you.
1933-2010
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