In memory of Grandma

My Grandmother, Patricia Dome, passed away recently, and her memorial service was last weekend. I wrote the following words to be read at the service, and I would like to share them now with my friends and family.


To Grandma


Goodbye Grandma.

No longer must you suffer in a bed that was not your own.
No longer must your lively spirit be trapped in your body with a broken mind.
No longer must you linger.
Free of the confusion, the loneliness, you have gone home.
Home to your husband, to Patty, to James your long passed son.
Home to your mother, to whom your thoughts turned as your memory waned.
To your father, your friends, and your God.
Behind, you leave a legacy of memories and love.
No more Sunday visits with your son or loving care from your daughter.
Now at peace, at rest, at home.

In my memory lingers your hugs and your laughter.
Christmas and summer visits.
Your smile at Grandpa’s card tricks, and the smell of cigarettes and coffee.
Seeing you in the kitchen cooking the fish that I caught from the Bonder’s dock.
Walks along the canal and jokes of lurking alligators.
Your collection of lighthouses and trinkets.
You holding my firstborn child.

Though memories may fade, your spirit lives on,
and we shall meet again,
into your open arms,
no longer weak with time and age,
to a warm embrace,
a broad smile,
and a hearty laugh.

Peace, Grandma, peace and love,
until we meet again.