Grace

Andrew's grandmother, Grace Wolgemuth, went to heaven yesterday. She was a remarkable woman. She had a joy for life and a passion for the Lord unlike anyone I have ever met. When you were in her presence, you felt love.

While her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren number over 70, she had the incredible gift of making each person feel special, loved and valued. Her love was genuine and rooted in a deep love for the Lord.

Just wanted to share a few stories about her.

- Some would think that after having 22 great-grandkids, the announcement of another one wouldn't be all that exciting. But when we called Gaye to tell her that we were pregnant with Malia, she cried with joy - she had all of the excitement as if it was her first great-grandchild. And when we called to tell her about Davey, her 27th great-grandchild she was just as excited.

- I first met Gaye the summer of 2002, just a couple of months after Andrew and I started dating. Andrew, his dad and brother were passing through Chicago, and I was living there that summer. They were stopping at Gaye's for lunch and I joined them.

She greeted us at the front door, first Dan, Andrew, Erik, and Alli and then Andrew introduced me, his girlfriend of a couple of months. What did she do? She welcomed me just as warmly as her son and grandkids, with a hug and a kiss.

I was amazed. Andrew was mortified. Not because of her warmth but because he realized that he would not be the first Wolgemuth to kiss me!

- I had the pleasure of receiving monthly letters from Gaye. One of my favorite lines ever was "It's going to be another frigid day here. I'm ready for global warming."

- One time we hosted Gaye and some other family members for dinner in Orlando. A lot of the time was spent listening to Gaye tell stories of growing up on the farm and when she was first married - it was so fun to hear her stories and she delighted in telling them.

But the highlight of the night came thanks to Erik's friend, Kevin, who was with us. Somehow it came up that Kevin could sing like Elvis, and then it was mentioned how much Gaye loved his song "Love Me Tender". I am not sure how we convinced Kevin to sing to her but he did. Her face was priceless - it was as if Elvis himself had sung it to her.

I have other cherished memories as do so many other people. She will be greatly missed.