My grandmother passed away this week.

She was the last of my four grandparents to pass on, and did so at the fine age of 93. Born in November of 1918 in Brigham City, Utah, Edna was the younger of two sisters. Through her, I have Mormon pioneer heritage which goes back into Nauvoo and also across the ocean into Denmark and Germany. My first and middle names come from her family and so I always had a special bond with her. Above is a photo of Edna with her two oldest children and her mother, Elvira Petersen Hess, in Vancouver, Washington, in 1941.

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Grandma and Grandpa lived far away in the pacific northwest, but we made it out to see them on occasion. One of those trips was a cross-country drive we made when I was 11. Grandma had spent long hours on one of her favorite projects- embroidery- and my sisters and I were each presented with a beautiful hand-embroidered tablecloth. She also produced pillowcases, dishtowels, Christmas stockings (Kari’s, Tona’s, and mine, among others), baby blankets, and other treasures. The works of her hands were always beautiful.

I will miss her sweetness, her smile, her sense of humor, the jar of butterscotch candies she kept by her chair, her love of wearing pins, and the way her hands always smelled like Chamberlain Golden Touch lotion. I cherish the last trip I made to see her in November of 2009 for our birthdays. I love you, Grandma.