Jane Rea Meyers Eliason

Grandmother on her wedding day.Jon's grandmother passed away. She was a wonderful woman and I'm so glad that I got to know her and that she was close enough for the kids to know her. She was 93. Some things I'd like to share about Grandmother.

1. She LOVED pink. She loved pink roses, handbags, bedding, clothing, lotions and basically anything you can find in any shade of pink.
2. She loved dolls. She's got a fantastic collection of dolls. Some she still has from her childhood. Beautiful porcelain dolls, paper dolls, newer dolls - all things associated with dolls.
3. She loved her family (especially the babies). One of her favorite memories that she'd share with me was when she held two great-grandchildren at the same time. One was the youngest daughter from her oldest granddaughter and one was the oldest daughter from another granddaughter. The girls are about 13 years old now, but Grandmother would still talk about that.
4. She loved her home. Until she couldn't live on her own anymore because of health reasons she lived in the same home that she lived in for more than 60 years. She had beautiful, impeccable taste and it reflected in her home decorating.
5. She was a bit of a saver. OK - that is the understatement of the century because she saved EVERYTHING. That might have been a product of the Great Depression era, but nobody knows. This weekend we found spelling tests of my mother-in-law's from about 1st or 2nd grade. They were on the top of a beautiful old steam locker trunk that was completely full of papers.
Please notice the pink casket that she picked out for herself years ago.
Her funeral was in Fresno and ALL Jon's cousins came in for it. We haven't had all the cousins together since Caroline's wedding in the summer of 2000. Although the occasion was sad it was great to see everybody. I think that everybody ended up with a great "trouble getting to Fresno" story. One flew directly from a trip to China, one had her flight delayed four times while her sister was stuck waiting for her in the airport for hours and another was tried to fly stand-by and ended up purchasing an extra set of tickets that they couldn't use. Ours was that our air conditioning broke a few hours outside of Fresno in 90 degree heat. We apparently hit a pebble that bounced into the engine and created a hole in the air conditioner. We had to drive home at night so it wouldn't be so hot in the car. It made for some interesting and sometimes desperate (and funny) phone calls the day before the funeral.

Jon and his grandmother at his graduation from USC in 1998.
The last time all three of my kids visited her. This was taken in mid-September.

These are some of my favorite shots the kids with her that I've got in digital and can upload easily.

Cassie with Grandmother in 2006Jeremy kissing her when he was two.Eliza getting a kiss from Grandmother in September

Eliza sleeping in Grandmother's arms in July.
One of the fun things during our trip was to meet Eliza's newest second-cousin.


His name is Blake Bauer and he's absolutely adorable. They are only about 6 weeks apart and I'm looking forward to seeing them grow up. I wish they lived closer together so they could play. I didn't get the shot of them laying on their backs together with his hand on her leg and her arm linked with his. It was really cute. You can't see it in the picture, but Blake's onsie has a little tie on it. They were both dressed up for the funeral. Boy Grandmother would have loved to hold these two babies together.
We'll miss you Grandmother!
Yours is a seat at the family table that can never be filled.