Farewell, Sweet Grandma of Mine

As you may have already heard by now, my Grandma Underhill passed away early on the morning of June 20. While selfishly I am devastated to have lost such a special person in my life, I am so glad that she is finally at peace. She was an incredible woman through and through, and I consider myself blessed to have had her in my life for the past 28 years.

Below I’ve highlighted some of my favorite memories of Grandma and a few (of the many) things I’ll miss about her:

• Her love of all creatures big and small (well, except cats. She wasn’t shy about her distaste for the feline variety. Quite frankly, I think she was put off by having to work for affection, and let’s face it, they rivaled her in the independence and attitude departments)! Seriously though, we had such a bond over our passion for animals. She was so proud of me when I went back to school to become a veterinary technician.
• Her infectious laugh and smile.

• HER STORIES!! A few years ago I asked grandma to share some of her stories from back in the day with me. I was in complete awe as we spent hours and hours chatting about the past and all she had experienced in her time; how she met my grandfather, following him around the country during WWII (with a small baby and dog none the less!), losing a newborn child, losing my grandfather to cancer with four small mouths to feed at home, how she met Grandpa Underhill (he actually worked with my biological Gpa!) and what it was like to add his four girls to the pack, etc. The detail in which she remembered everything was like it all went down yesterday. Her resilience and ability to roll with the punches is INSPIRATIONAL. She is MY inspiration and undoubtedly the strongest woman I will ever know.

• Her vivacious personality was one of a kind. OH MY GOODNESS did she ever have a wit and spunk about her! Sometimes listening to her gab on and on about the folks in her community reminded me of hilarious teenage gossip, but WAY cuter coming from my Grandma… Who had thrown back a few too many drinks last week, who wasn’t following the neighborhood code of conduct, yadda yadda; it was super endearing! She constantly kept us entertained (er, blushing) with her inability to hold back from saying exactly what was on her mind. She was a firecracker!!
• I will miss hearing “My Heatherly, Heatherly!” in that chipper tone that she always greeted me with. I can hear it now, and hope that the sound of her voice never fades from my memory.
• A few years ago she asked Brian if he was afraid of getting drafted! :-) The first time she met Brian she also pointed out, “Heather likes them tall and handsome, just like her grandmother!” She pointed this out on quite a few other occasions as well.
• Her funny way of making people “work” for her. I’ll never forget our last visit to Florida when grandma boasted about how she had befriended a young man at the gas station and whenever he saw her pull up to the pump, he would come running out and pump her gas for her so that she didn’t have to get out of her car. Well imagine her disappointment when Brian and I went to check her tire pressure and top off her gas tank only to discover that the gas station had gone out of business! She was super bummed. Grandma definitely took full advantage of her elderly status whenever she could!
• During my first conversation with Grandma after Brecken was born she asked me, “So what’s this I hear you named him after some bridge?!?!” Turns out when my Dad spoke with her earlier, he had said something to the effect of “His name is Brecken… as in BreckenRIDGE.” Pretty sure she thought I lost my mind!
• Walmart. Nuff said! (Opthof joke)
• 4:00pm cocktail time/ vodka martinis will never be the same! Neither will soft boiled eggs and coffee at breakfast for that matter. Grandma was also notorious for filling us to the brim with way too much food at breakfast. Even after we said we were full, she would still offer up one more English muffin or whatever else was left in her fridge.
• One of my favorite recent memories of Grandma was getting to spend last Christmas with her and introducing her to Brecken! What a wonderful time we had, and such a blessing that Brecken got to meet his great grandma. Not many people get to say that- even if he may not remember it!

I love you more than you could have possibly ever known, Grandma!! You will forever live on in our hearts and memories.

Elizabeth L. Opthof Underhill

October 11, 1921 - June 20, 2011