November 18, 2005

  • Today it occurred to me, triggered by a friend's mention that her
    father had died 24 years ago today, that this is the 25th anniversary
    of the death of my grandmother, Modie Gambill:

    I remember the last time I saw her was in Noel's Catholic bookstore on
    Henderson.  She happened to come in while I was there, and she
    delightedly let the store personnel know the baby with me - my
    Alexander Beetle, who was two months old at the time - was her
    greatgrandson.  Alex being the performer he is would flash the
    older ladies a smile and they'd go all gooey and mushy over
    him.  My last memory of Grandmother was her kissing baby Alex's
    hand (she wouldn't hold the babies as she had low blood pressure,
    causing her to occasionally fall).

    That's a nice memory. 

    She had polio as a girl and had feared she'd be permanently paralyzed;
    the LORD was gracious to her, though, and she recovered fully. 
    The only residual effect appeared to be a lifelong love of
    walking!  She would regularly walk for miles. 

    Grandmother was the best ad lib storyteller in the world, bar
    none.  Her off-the-cuff tales of Peter Rabbit, the Big Bad Wolf,
    and the other denizens of the Magic Forest kept Jeanne, Louis and me in
    stitches for years.  She even went so far as to plant a small
    orchard in her back yard, intended to be the Magic Forest.

    Her dedication and devotion to Christ was a byword, and her presence at
    daily services at All Saints' Episcopal church one of the few constants
    in an inconstant world.  It wasn't surprising, necessarily, when
    Canon DeWolfe, who was the rector of that church while Grandmother was
    there, named her in a Star-Telegram interview as the only true saint
    he'd ever known, but it was quite a bit more surprising when a man I
    didn't know said the same thing about her in a Bible study class at
    Christ Chapel a few years ago.

    Your legacy lives, Grandmother. 

    I still love you and miss you, and rejoice to think of the happy day we'll meet again.

Comments (11)

  • What a lovely tribute to a wonderful woman of God! Thanks, Anne, for sharing.

    Hugs!

    me<><

  • That was lovely, Anne. And it looks and sounds as if your grandmother was a lovely lady. Did the man in the Bible study class know your relation to her when he made the comment, or was it an out of the blue, "The only true saint I ever knew was a lady named Modie Gambill"?

  • Nope, he wasn't aware of it. Wasn't that something? He used to attend All Saints (obviously!) and somehow the conversation had gotten around to those we've known who would qualify uncategorically as "saints" in the Biblical sense, and darned if this man didn't start talking about a lovely older lady at All Saints, who was never heard to say anything unkind about anyone, ever, and so on....and it turned out he was talking about Grandmother!

  • What wonderful memories you have of her!!

  • A great testimony to a truly Impressive Person. May her memory live long, and may you step into those shoes yourself, if you haven't already.

  • What an absolutely lovely lady!  No wonder you are such a treasure yourself, my dear!

  • Did you tell this gentleman, btw, that you are her granddaughter? That's a lot to live up to, but we're sure you're doing just fine.

    Hugs

    me<><

  • I remember getting off the bus at All Saints one day and Donna Michaels was asked by some kid whether she ever knew a "real" saint. Mrs. Michaels replied that the only saint she'd ever known was Modie Gambill. That was about the time I exited the bus (I don't think Mrs. Michaels realized I was even on the bus).

    I am blessed that I got to hear some of those wonderful stories too. I sure wish I could remember them now! And I wish I had gotten that gift from her of being able to tell stories.

    I had lunch with Dad yesterday and he reminded me of the occasion as well. I miss her!!

  • Isn't that the truth? Years of stories but I can't recall a specific one.

    How wonderful that you, too, had the pleasure of hearing Grandmother lovingly referred to by others as the saint she certainly was. ;^)

    And yes, Cindy, I did let him know he was speaking of my grandmother. It was agreed by all it is, indeed, a small world.

  • Thank you so much for sharing.  Your memories of your grandmother brought tears of joy to my eys.  I can't wait to meet her one day in Heaven.  I'm sure she's full of brand new stories of Jesus and His Kingdom to share when we get there one day.  What a blessing!

  • Oh, that's just lovely, Anne. Thanks so much.

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