Great Grandma Geddes passed away the day after Thanksgiving, and while we were a little surprised by the timing--she had just started eating meals again and seemed to be improving--we were happy at the thought of her being reunited with her husband and her daughter on the other side. Seventeen years she lived without the companionship of her George: seventeen years of impressive independence, sixteen and-a-half of those years spent living on her own. One hundred years of life.
My memories of Marval:
She loved reading books and magazines,
she loved eating chocolates,
she loved watching TV,
and she loved being around family.
A woman after my own heart on all accounts :)
What I learned about Marval:
She got her pilot's license (in her thirties),
she was not a fan of camping
(even though the Geddes clan spent a ton of time fishing),
she worked as a bookkeeper,
she always made and shared cookies,
she loved going to movies,
she had a favorite uncle,
she changed her name from Marvel with an e to Marval with an a.
The service was on a Monday and after a jam-packed weekend leading up, we literally drove straight from church--still in our church clothes, no less--to the viewing up in Redding. We had prepped the kids a few days before, explaining what a viewing is and how they wouldn't have to look at Great Grandma if they didn't want to, but never did I anticipate just how different the kids' reactions would be.
Bennett wanted nothing to do with it: he basically ran and hid in a corner of the lobby. He wasn't scared or upset. "It just sounds creepy" were his exact words. Eli: dying of curiosity but also dying to be like his older brother. He'd come in the room, take a quick look at the open coffin, and take off to the lobby with B. He'd run in again, get a little closer, look a little longer, only to turn and run out again. Then there was Millie, who simply couldn't get enough. She kept asking to be picked up and held so she could get a closer look. Talk about fascinated. She turned into a broken record, saying to everyone: "That's Great Grandma in that box," and "She's dead." I couldn't decide whether I should laugh or cry.
I'm sure most people thought we were nuts for taking our young kids to a viewing, but the kinds of discussions we had as a family about the plan of salvation and life after death felt pretty meaningful, now that I think back on it. We had some pretty poweful teaching moments because of that viewing.
The funeral service happened the next day, and after a weekend of torrential rain all around northern California, we gratefully went to both the church and the cemetery on dry roads. Stephen's dad gave a touching eulogy about his mother's life--which is where I learned the information above--and I had to chuckle at some of the personality traits he described. They reminded me of Stephen and some of his siblings and cousins. I guess the apple really doesn't fall far from the tree, does it?
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| Stephen's parents rounded up some fabulous photos |
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| The glare makes them a little hard to see |
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but hopefully you can get the idea
(Can you tell who's a little bored over there?) |
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| At the gravesite. She was buried next to Great Grandpa and Stephen's cousin Sarah. |
Eli has always wanted to hang with his older brother Bennett as you can see from these 2007 photos. It led him to riding a scooter before he was 2 with B and his friends, to wanting to go to kindergarten with his bro, to wanting to practice and play with Bennett's soccer teams. Almost 6 years later, nothing has changed. Eli is reading with a vengeance in kindergarten, trying to hit the wiffle ball as hard as he can and wondering why he can't go with us and play on Bennett's basketball team this season. So here's to all the younger brothers who want to be just like their older brother!
