My grandmother died today, loved for 61 years by my grandfather.

Lost in her mind these past few years, she nevertheless was the woman he fell in love with on first sight. While on a double blind date with a friend, he took one look at my grandmother, tossed the keys to his friend, and hopped in the back seat after she did, much to the shock of his friend. He told me that his heart hammered wildly in his chest as he avoided his friend's eyes and hoped he wouldn't insist on changing dates. He was quite relieved when his friend acquiesced, shook his head, and opened the front passenger door for the other woman.

She was the joy of his life, his better half. Gentle and patient to the last, he would comb her hair, power her cheeks, and whisper sweet words in her ear each time he visited. To see such love made my heart ache at the beauty of it.

She was a mother who gave everything to raising her daughters, my step-mother and her sister, who died when she was a young woman. To bury a child is near impossible to bear with grace, but she did and later raised her grandson in the memory of her daughter. Culinary, sewing, and gardening arts were her domain. What she could do with plants was amazing. She was also as gentle as her husband, soft spoken and kind to all.

She was much loved...and will be missed...