Goodbye Granny

My Granny Hance was called to Heaven early this morning. We are so thankful that we visited her in October. She was a wonderful lady. She had just celebrated her 84th birthday. She passed away at home. The home she had lived at for over 55 years.

She raised 7 children, 4 boys & 3 girls. She was a tough lady, who worked hard, and was feisty as ever. She had been without her true love for the past 8 years and I know she was missing him deeply. She loved to get the family together, eat a meal, play pinochle, and look at old family photos.

In my memory I recall Granny & Papa visiting us in Kansas three times, the last time would have been my high school graduation. They also visited us at my dad's house in Florida quite a bit. She also made the trek to Iowa in 2004 for my dad's 50th birthday. She had a twin sister and her family was from Missouri. I remember her sending my sister and I a Christmas package one year while I was in grade school filled with neat treasures. A purple beaded doll and purse, stationary with my name on it, and I can't remember the rest. She always called me Chrissy, until these last few visits then she would call me Debe (my mom's name.) I guess she thought I looked like my mom.

Granny's house wasn't the cleanest or the prettiest, but it sure was the place I had the most fun. They lived on a farm - to this city girl that was cool. The house is on 6 acres of land and when my dad would take us there to visit, my sister and I could run all over that land with our cousins. We would play hide-n-seek, pretend to be camping and have bonfires (down in the spot where dad had his bonfires as a kid), get up in the barn and watch the cousins jump out of the barn (but I was too scared to do it), play the game of LIFE, Connect Four, and Lincoln Logs in the spare room, listen to Conway Twitty sing "Don't Cry Joni" on the BIG record player, eat Grandpa's Dilly Beans or fresh peaches from the orchard down by the driveway, drink "sweet tea" by the gallon, watch Grandma & Grandpa make quilts together, catch fireflys, and later as adults go snowmobiling in the winter.

Granny didn't spoil us with gifts, but I do remember the one Christmas EVERYONE was together at her house and us kids were allowed to open 1 gift on Christmas Eve. She had gotten all of us light up yo-yos. It was the coolest gift ever! We didn't need anymore presents after that. Granny loved to get pictures of our families as we grew up and made our own lives. She was blessed with 14 grandchildren and I can't even count all the great grandchildren.

Granny wasn't a celebrity nor did she try to change the world, but in her little "village" of Berrien Springs, Michigan she was a well known treasure. And she gave me one of the greatest gifts ever - my dad.

We love you Granny. xoxo


Granny with my sister and I in October 2010.