When we asked our readers to tell us about their grandparents, the response was overwhelming. We received so many great stories, that we did not have enough room to print them all in the magazine. Below are some more of the heart warming stories.
Our grandmother, Bernice Glascoe, has a true gift of making each of her grandchildren believe he/she is the most special person in the world. She always has time to listen, to encourage, to fix our favorite meal, to laugh with us, to find great joy in our accomplishments. She is unselfish in giving of her love and her possessions. Simply put, she’s the best!
—Jennifer Woodall Howell of Grand Rapids, Mich.
When I was small, Grandma made teacakes and cocoa for me, and Grandpa let me ride on the horse-drawn sled that hauled water from our neighbor’s well. When I was grown, I realized that the greatest thing they ever did was to rear their five children with love and care during the Great Depression. One happened to be my mother, who gave me the same love and care.
—Dotsy Halliburton Weber, 70, of Waelder, Texas, granddaughter of the late Joe and Willie Meneley
Grandparents always have good ideas. My grandma encouraged me to be in the talent show. My grandpa taught me how to play guitar. Both of my grandparents taught me how to sing. They don’t have to do all these things; they do it because they love me. When I’m down they try to cheer me up. All I got to say is, I love my grandparents very much!
—Mathew Barringer, 15, of Hanover, Ind., grandson of Sandra Phillips, also of Hanover
I do not have any living grandparents. My mom’s parents both died before my big brother Ruben was born. My dad’s father died four months before I was born and my grandmother died last year. Even though I don’t have regular grandparents, I have my Tia Ana and Tio Ramiro, who are very special. They have both been like grandparents to me and my brothers and sisters. They do not have any kids so they have lots of time for us. They do everything that regular grandparents do with their grandkids. They are always there when my mom or stepdad can’t be. I don’t think they could love us any more if we were their real grandkids.
—Jose A. Lopez, 10, of Laredo, Texas
My Nana is the best because she loves me. She takes care of me. She reads me stories. She has two cool dogs. She fixes me pancakes. She lets me sleep in her bed. She lets me stay up real late.
—Jacob Andreasson, 4, of Sullivan, Mo., grandson of Lynn Wallis of Cuba, Mo.
The most wonderful things you can give any child, they gave to me—time and love. The simplest pleasures in life, I found through them. Memories with my grandparents have not only instilled a sense of kindness and love in myself, but now to my child. My grandparents were married 71 years until the recent passing of my grandfather. I continue to express my love for them now through the memories that I carry beyond his years.
—Ginger Lovvorn, 35, of Bonaire, Ga., granddaughter of Margaret Nestlehutt of Union City, Ga.
My Danish grandparents, Anton and Karen Lange, fulfilled their wondrous dream. Sacrificing six years apart, Grandpa sailed to Amerika in 1892. A ditch digger and farm laborer, he earned passage to Amerika for his beloved Karen and young children Peter, Elizabeth, Alberta, James, and Christina by 1898. Industrious, frugal, principled, two generations became proud Amerikan citizens and successful farm owners.
—Robert E. Larson, 83, of Story City, Iowa, who has six grandchildren and one—soon to be two—great grandchildren
Although she showed us responsibility and high standards, she didn’t make a lot of rules for us to obey; instead, she set a golden example for us to follow.
—Joann Mueller of Osage City, Kan., granddaughter of Wilma Freeman
Raised on an Ohio farm—with no modern facilities—in the 1930s, my brother and I were the happiest children alive. Our grandparents gave us love in the food prepared on a coal-fired stove and the warm featherbeds that kids laugh all the way down in. Wooden stilts, made by Grandpa, to run on! We’d say, “Grandma, we’re hungry.” She’d say, “Here’s a bucket, go pick berries, you’ll have a pie.” We’d eat it all! I think of these two wonderful people each day. Grandparents don’t come any greater than mine; a great example for me to try to follow for my seven grandchildren.
—Betty Taranto, 72, of The Villages, Fla., granddaughter of Ura Glen and La Verta Mae Lake
My grandparents are my soft place to fall; my constants, and they have been for my entire life. Grandpa, now nearly 104 years old, is still able to teach me some of the most meaningful and loving lessons life wishes us to acknowledge. Grandma, nearly 90 years old, is no less capable of softening all the hard edges in life than when she was both grandmother and mother.
—Carma Zarosinski of Camas, Wash., granddaughter of Wilma and Charlie Jensen of Langloise, Ore.
Grandfather Fabian Anderson immigrated on a sailing vessel in 1887, a penniless boy of 12, and epitomized the American dream. Fabian was a self-educated American citizen and civil rights activist fiercely loyal to family, cribbage, organic gardening, ice skating, the Huntley-Brinkley News, dancing. He gave me flowers, resilience, perseverance, music. Fabian died at 95 owning his debt-free home in Jamestown, N.Y., having reared three sons and his orphaned grandson there.
—Billie-Fae Gerard Gill, 71, of Statesville, N.C., who has five children, 11 grandchildren and three great grandchildren
