Honoring Our Grandparents this Grandparents Day

In honor of "Grandparents Day!" I'm re-posting my Tribute to the Tigers' Great-Grandmother whom we adored and were amazingly close to until the day she went home to Glory. My sweet mother is a presence in the boys lives. And a part of our everyday here. My Daddy, one day you'll hear more about this priceless man. For now, I can't imagine 'sharing posts' with any of our amazing Grandparents. So se'll focus this writing on the Tigers' Great-Grandmother as we miss her much since was called home.

We're blessed with an amazing "cloud of witnesses" in our Grandparents. My own Poppy, Bisabuela, Tito, and on. We're thankful our boys will remember their Great-Grandmother as they were 6 1/2 on this day.

She taught us, love, Jesus, the Bible, generosity, how to laugh, to love life, love each other, love mangoes, and a beautiful sunset, to chuckle as we fed Foxes on her Rocky Mountain deck right off of her kitchen, she lived unconditional love, a love for amazing lovingly prepared foods, a love for the outdoors, she loved to sing and write poetry, and caring for others.

The Rocky Mountain News said it well... I'll post their Tribute below. [It's funny how life is, the Rocky Mountain News was one of the many newspapers to close its printing press this year, almost on it's 150th Anniversary.]

We miss her madly. She left us so much, taught us well the importance of family, love and God. See ya later Bisabuela! You're the best! Here she is pictured with her five great-grandchildren at her mountain home and two of her grandsons with the five great-grandchildren at her home. Enjoy!

It just seemed right to share a glimpse of her here. Her memorial was this past weekend. Here is the story as published below...

Youthful at 97, *Betty* never quit teaching

Special To The Rocky September 11, 2007
*Betty* spent a recent birthday pushing a cart filled with various items through the halls of Boulder Community Hospital, where she was a longtime volunteer. At the end of the day, she decided she'd pushed enough carts enough miles and announced her retirement.
It was her 95th birthday.
Mrs. *Betty* often fooled people into thinking she was decades younger than she really was. On Aug. 20, she died at her son's home in Boulder, following a brief illness. She was 97.
Born in Texas in 1910, she moved to South America in the 1930s to teach social studies and English. It was there she met and married Leon H. *, in Cartagena, Colombia, in 1935.
When the family returned to the United States in 1959, they settled in Boulder, and Mrs. *Betty* resumed teaching, at Centennial Junior High School, where she remained until she retired in 1975.
"She had to retire at 65, but she didn't quit teaching," said her daughter-in-law, Jo Ellen *. "She was an outstanding teacher. That was her love."
She went on to teach Spanish to elementary children as a volunteer.
She also used her fluency in Spanish to serve as a volunteer translator at San Juan del Centro Clinic and at Boulder Community Hospital. She also went as an interpreter on two medical mission trips to Ciudad Mante, Mexico, when she was in her late 80s.
"Nobody tried to discourage her because they thought she was only in her 60s," said her son, Andy. "Nobody knew she was in her 90s."
He credits much of her longevity to her "rigid self-will."
Diagnosed with diabetes some 10 years ago - the same disease that took her husband's life in 1983 - she went on a strict diet that she maintained steadfastly until her death.
A longtime Republican, Mrs. *Betty* was active in party politics and caucuses. She was invited to the inauguration of the first President Bush.
Family was also important to her, Andy * said.
"She knew who every second, third and fourth cousin was," he said. "Her mother had (a total of) 108 children, grandchildren, great- grandchildren and great-great- grandchildren. And that was in 1964. So there's a bunch of us."
He said Mrs. *Betty* and her sisters maintained a round-robin letter for almost 40 years. That's how she kept track of the new births in the vast clan.
Mrs. *Betty* was preceded in death by her husband, her parents, five brothers and four sisters. She is survived by her son and his wife, four grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Memorial services will be at 3 p.m. Saturday at First Presbyterian....

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God bless you and your Grandparents this Grandparents Day!

Warmly,