Apologies for the lack of posts lately — the past 10 days have been rough.

In a four-day span, both Grandpa Gus (my mom’s father) and Grandma Trudie (my dad’s mother) both passed away. They were my last two living grandparents and already I miss them dearly. I am so grateful for the past 31 years that our lives have overlapped, and all this time we’ve had to learn from, love, and lean on each other. I take comfort in the warm memories we’ve created over the years, and in seeing parts of my grandparents live on in myself, sister, cousins, aunts, and uncles.

I spent much of the last week sorting through old photo albums to scan images from Grandpa Gus and Grandma Trudie’s lives — and boy, did they LIVE. Pouring over these photos has provided a measure of comfort because I can see very clearly how full their lives were. I will share just a handful of these images here, along with a video montage of each that we played at their funeral services the past two days.

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REMEMBERING GERTRUDE MEYER

Our dear, sweet, bright light Grandma Trudie lived to be 97 years old. It is not an overstatement to say that she was one of the kindest people to walk this earth. No matter what life threw at her, she never said a bad word about anyone, and never lost her temper. She was the epitome of grace and love. Even as dementia took over in recent years, she was still sweet as pie and caretakers in her assisted living facility would often tell us how much they loved her. Her personality has always sparkled, just like the glittery gold shoes she used to bedazzle with rhinestones in the late ‘80s, or the pieces of statement jewelry she often wore. Grandma loved her bling.

We grew up playing cards a lot — her husband (my Grandpa Henry) would take out the deck every night after dinner, even when it was just the two of them. At family gatherings, or even if we just visited for lunch, we would play a few rounds of various poker games (“Dealer’s Choice”) and Gramps’s favorite game (“Shoulda”). We are pretty sure there is an epic pinochle game happening on the other side right now.

Grandma loved her glass of Bailey’s each afternoon. And she was a lifelong reader of bodice-ripping romance novels and tabloid magazines, often sitting poolside at their condo in Ft. Myers while skimming the latest juicy gossip from under the cover of a shiny visor.

And she had a goofy side that we all loved — here she is with my cousin David and his wife Julie, posing with the “good chardonnay”:

Grandma Trudie and Grandpa Henry loved to play Bingo, but Grandma would win way more often than him. When I visited them in Florida during college spring break and later while working at Young & Restless, I would plan my trip specifically around their weekly Bingo night so I could join them.

Speaking of Young & Restless, my grandma never got into soap operas until I started working on one. And then bless her heart, she began watching soaps at the age of 88! She and my grandpa would always tell me the days that my name appeared in the credits (usually once per week) and for her 90th birthday I asked the cast members of our show to sign a frame for Trudie. She was so touched to receive it. It’s been hanging on the wall in her assisted living facility the past three years and one day when I was visiting a nurse pointed to it and said, “You have such a beautiful family!” Ha… I still laugh about that one.

I love this photo of her; I snapped it at Mel’s Diner during one of many Florida visits:

In the 1970s my grandparents opened a cable manufacturing company in Hamden, Connecticut called Meyer Wire. Here is Grandma and my father posing at her desk… where my sister currently sits for her job! In her earlier career as a secretary, Grandma was able to type 120 words per minute — just one of her impressive talents.

Me and Grandma around Christmas 1984:

A family shot with Grandma in 1987:

One of the greatest ways my grandparents inspired me was through their extensive international travels after retirement. They went all over the world — China, Australia, Egypt, the Holy Land, Venezuela, a tour of European capitals. They especially loved cruises. I get giddy looking at their old photos of all places they’ve visited, but at the same time it’s bittersweet. I wish I could talk to them about my recent travels these past three years. I’ve shown Grandma hundreds of my photos from abroad (and sent dozens of postcards) but with her dementia it was hard to bond over it the way we would have in prior years. But I know she and Gramps are proud of me for following in their travel footsteps. And I’m not the only grandkid doing so, as my sister and cousins have traveled quite a bit too — our grandparents’ example of exploration has been a gift to all of us.

Grandma, we will love you forever.

Montage of moments from Grandma Trudie’s life:

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REMEMBERING GUSTAV OSWALD

Grandpa Gus was a loving grandfather and, as recently described by a former coworker, a big teddy bear. He always called people by their first name, whether it be a waiter or nurse or cashier (often reading their name tag), and had an easy rapport with everyone who crossed his path. As my sister noted in her remarks at his service, it’s easy to understand why our grandmother was so taken with him when they first met — she was a bank teller and he would drop off deposits for the auto company where he was a mechanic.

He lived nearby in Connecticut throughout my childhood and then moved to Florida in his later years. I would visit there annually, spending time with Grandpa and his partner Jane. My sister would visit too as her college / work schedule allowed. We have some great memories of dining out at fun restaurants (like the Bubble Room in Captiva) and attending musicals and plays at the Broadway Palm Dinner Theater and Arcade Theater in Ft. Myers. He knew how much I loved theater and would rearrange his season tickets so we could squeeze in several performances during my visits. Throughout the rest of the season, he would mail me his playbills and ticket stubs from the other performances he saw because he knew how much I enjoyed looking through them. I still have them all in a keepsake box in my closet.

Grandpa Gus was always the first person to read my blog each morning. When I checked the stats an hour or so after a post went up, usually only one or two people had read it — and I knew he was one of them. He loved following my adventures.

Whenever my sister or I would call him on the phone, Grandpa would always say, “Boy I’ll tell ya, you made my day.” What a gift to be able to make someone’s day!

For Grandpa’s 85th birthday, our uncle arranged a big surprise — my sister and I flew to Florida and greeted Grandpa and Jane as they stepped off the elevator in their building. They had no clue we were coming! We picked up silly Halloween costumes for them from Target, as well as Thanksgiving decor. It was great to spend quality time with them; check out this post for more photos from our fun weekend.

This was a really happy day:

A photo from my visit to Ft. Myers last December — I love this shot:

And many years ago I snapped this shot of Grandpa posing outside Mel’s Diner — we had a lovely dinner with Grandma Trudie that night:

Here’s a vintage shot from Halloween 1986:

And from Christmas in 1987:

Grandpa Gus served in the Korean War in the 1950s and was honored for his service at his funeral yesterday. I had never been to a military funeral before — guards of honor draped a flag over his casket and then folded it into a triangular shape for our family to keep. Other guards fired volley shots as a salute, and then played Taps on the trumpet. It was quite moving to witness.

Montage of moments from Grandpa Gus’s life:

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Grandpa Gus and Grandma Trudie, I am so fortunate to be your granddaughter, and to walk forward in life carrying all I’ve learned from you. Love you forever.

XO, Erica