In Memory of Virginia Peterson McLean

My sweet sweet grandmother passed away this last week.  I'm so glad we were able to make the trip to Arizona to her funeral... though very very hard and very very sad, it was also a very very good experience.  The first night being in her home without her in it was the hardest I think.  I remember seeing a letter from my sister Rosie on their desk that they received just a week or so before she died and an overwhelming feeling of guilt came over me... I felt terrible for not writing her... I kept meaning to... I guess I just had a hard time seeing her so sick... I was in denial and didn't want to face the facts.  After that first shock I was able to sit up that night with Randy (who lost his Grandpa a couple of years ago) and just talk... talk about how I felt and he comforted me sweetly.  I felt much better after that long talk.

That whole week I was grateful to learn about my grandma's whole life, including her younger days which I never really appreciated before... I never thought to look at her as a young nursing student or a young mother.  In tears, my mom talked about how she was so sweet and had to be SO careful and a young mother because all of her babies were premature... she would make the older siblings stay outside when she brought a new baby home and they could only see him through the window outside... it was only when they were bathed and in clean pajamas that they could get closer.  She would sanitize EVERYTHING for her precious little babies because she knew how fragile they were.  Another thing that everyone said in their memories was how she was always ALWAYS thinking of others.  We would joke that she had a spring in her chair because every time she sat down to eat dinner she would think of something else that someone needed... like the salt or a spoon or a drink.  One thing that one of there old bishops said was that in Tucson, Arizona everyone would always say "when are we going to get a temple?" and for the longest time they wanted one closer... the bishop then talked about how when he was in my grandparents' house, that is where he felt the closest to being in a temple in Tuscon, Arizona.  One more memory that everyone shared was that my Grandma and Grandpa shared one of the sweetest marriages anyone has ever seen... not that they didn't have trials... but they were always so sweet and loving to each other.  My grandma would always tie my grandpa's tie on Sunday and after she tightened it she would always pull my grandpa close with it and give him a kiss and say "I love you".

Well, I better leave it at that for now, I just hope that I can somewhat live up to my Grandma's amazing example of love, service and living simply.   I love you Grandma and will miss you dearly.

Here are some pictures from this one last trip to Tucson, Arizona: