BRIDGET E. FISHER
Born Feb 23, 1979
She lost her physical life on
Jan 9, 2007
but her spirit lives on

BERTIE LEE WHITSON
Sept 10, 1897 - Nov 3 1964

GRANDMA'S APRON
I gaze at my modern kitchen, appliances by the score
Stand in every corner, but none of them as handy
AS THE APRON THAT GRANDMA WORE.
Huge, made of sturdy cotton, drab colored so spots would not show Held secure by a waistband and tied with a ribbon and a bow. The best multi-purpose appliance the world would ever know. A supporter for the toddlers first steps, a place to hide for childish fears, A wrapper on chilly evenings, and a remover of childish tears. A basket for every collection - cotton, watermelon, eggs or baby chicks,
Flowers for the house, kindling or ice chips, Vegetables from the garden, or sweet corn from the field. A protector from hot pans or dishes, at the stove a good heat shield.
A communication signal to the workers on the farm
To say that it's mealtime or to carry an alarm. A driver of foul from the garden or flies from an opening door,
The dust from the table or crumbs to the kitchen floor.
A curtain for shadeless windows, a frost guard for tender plants, A cradle for sleeping babies, a fan for little kids too hot to pant. So I gaze at my modern kitchen, a gadget for every chore. And I ADMIT that they are not as convenient as THE APRON THAT GRANDMA WORE.
Written by
Debbie Pickle
granddaughter
2002

BILLIE JOE WHITSON Oct 20, 1928 - June 1, 1998

The Broken Chain
We little knew
that morning that God
was going to call your
name.
In life we
loved you dearly In
death we do the
same.
It broke our
hearts to lose
you, you did not go
alone; for part of us
went with you, the
day God called you
home.
You left us
peaceful
memories, your love
is still our
guide, and though we
cannot see you, you
are always at our
side.
Our family
chain is broken and
nothing seems the
same, but as God
calls us one by
one, the chain will
link again.
Author unknown

 

JAMES LESTER WHITSON
Jan 9, 1934 - Feb 25, 2002

The world seems a little
different now,
But you'd have to understand to
know how.
The world has one less popcorn
eater,
One less father, one less brother,
One less supervisor, one less pet
owner,
One less pecan lover, one less
veteran,
One less role model, one less
grandfather,
One less friend, one less believer,
But most importantly
The world has one less person to
stand beside.
Written by
Melanie Pickle
granddaughter
Feb 2002

 

It is a rare man that can be a father to three little girls. Who bared the many hormones wearing only laughter as armor, who always told them how beautiful and loved they were all the while providing a loving example as a husband.You are greatly missed by all. But there is a special miss for you by your grandchildren who knew you well, those whose memories are only vague and great sorrow for the ones who never knew you at all.

In loving memory of James W. Spencer 1940 - 1997

"Queen Bea"
April 21, 1920
January 19, 2008

Dear Grandma,

It’s chilly today, about 60 degrees or so. You missed a beautiful rainbow on Monday. But as I thought about it, you were probably sitting on top of that rainbow watching my roommate and I drive down PCH – saying out loud “drive safely, and call me when you get home.” Unfortunately, I couldn't call you when I arrived at home but in my heart I said it to myself, “Grandma, I am home safely and I will talk to you soon. Love you.”

As each day passed from December 31, 2007 to January 19, 2008 I began to look back at all of our wonderful memories together.

THANK YOU…

Grandma, I want to thank you for all of those nights you let me sleep with you and Grandpa, even though we almost pushed him off the bed 99% of the time. But hey, I couldn’t help it if I thought there were monsters in your house. I want to thank you for taking me to the hospital when I broke my first bone. Remember mom was getting her nails done and had to meet us there later. It just ended up being the 3 Amigos – you, me and grandpa. I want to thank you for my education. If it wasn’t for you, I
would have never been a student at Los Alamitos, therefore I would not have the relationships I have
with the people I know today. In addition, I probably wouldn't’t be where I am today – I have you to
thank for who I am. I want to thank you for all of the dinners you bought me at Tony Roma’s. Ribs, sure won’t taste the same without you and it will be hard eating an entire onion loaf by myself. And thank you Grandma for showing me that you can eat a hamburger with spaghettios. That was by far the best meal I ever ate. Thank you for always sitting with me during lunch time whenever I stayed at your house. We truly enjoyed our sandwiches and Pringles while we watched TV together. Thank you for your wonderful scramble eggs and cheese. Nobody made a breakfast like you did. However, the rice
crispis cereal that you let me poor tons of sugar on was another favorite of mine. Thank you for teaching me about love. And I only hope that one day I have what you and grandpa have. Thank you for helping me to handle my mother. You always had the perfect thing to say when Mom started to pick on me. You simply said “just let it be, just let it be” with a few pats on my knee. We would look
at each other, smile and give a small chuckle – I knew you were always on my side. Thank you for calling me on Monday evenings at 6:30 to check-in and see how I was doing. Though sometimes we missed our weekly phone calls – we always made up for it somehow. Thank you for always sneaking me a little extra cash – just so I could have a good time. Thank you for counting quarters with me. I’ll never forget the day we tried to find all 50 states. I think we are only missing a few. Thank you for not just being a Grandma to me, but to all my friends. I can’t recall a single friend of mine that didn’t call you Grandma Bea. Thank you for always being my date for the Jewish Holidays. It was you and me Grandma as mom and dad drove the two of us around. In addition, thank you for being my date whenever we went out with mom and dad. Not very many people can say they had two chauffeurs
at the same time. Thank you for showing me it is OK to wrap your hair in toilet paper when you sleep at night. In all honesty, I probably won’t be wrapping my hair in toilet paper late at night anytime soon but you never know. Thank you for taking me to the Westminster mall to by me my first handball. Thank you for showing me it only takes a little bit of baking soda and some food coloring to make a mini volcano. I am sure you are the only one who understands what I am talking about right now. Thank you for keeping my little secrets. Things that I would tell you that I would not want anyone else to know. Thank you for always having drumsticks in your fridge for me. Though
we both knew I didn’t need to eat one – we always had a blast eating them together. This was occasionally around the time Laurence Welk was on. Thank you for always walking me to the door when I left your house and thank you for always waving and blowing me a kiss as I drove away and honked (scaring any neighbor that was outside). Thank you for your patience, beauty and love, thank you for your poise and love for life and thank you for always being there for me and laughing with me and listening to everything I always said. Thank you for being you. Thank you for telling me it was OK and thank you for telling me you will always be looking out for me. To me Grandma, it only makes sense: it only makes sense that you saw me take my very first step as a child and I saw you
take your very last.

I love you Grandma so very much. And as I continue to grow and move forward I will always be asking myself WWMGD – What Would My Grandma Do? I miss you!

Mother and Daughter

The most fearless woman that I have
ever known. During the depression
and throughout her life she would
feed entire families who were less
fortunate than she. She would make
dinners and have my mom bring
them to neighbors.....nearly every
night......cooking for at less 15
people after working in a sewing
shop for 8 hours and walking to and
from work. She was always helping
someone. She came to this country all alone
at the age of 17 and got a job
immediately as a maid and then
worked herself into a seamstress
position. She wasn't your typical
Italian....light blue eyes, blond hair,
and very pale skin. All the
relatives would always gather at her
house for holidays. ....best cook ever!

Memories from her grand daughter
Donna Dowick

December 18, 1949 ~ March 03, 2009

We little knew that day, God was going to call your name.

In life we loved you dearly, In death, we do the same.
It broke our hearts to lose you.

You did not go alone.
For part of us went with you,
The day God called you home.

You left us beautiful memories,
Your love is still our guide.
And although we cannot see you,
You are always at our side.

Our family chain is broken,
And nothing seems the same,
But as God calls us one by one,

The chain will link again.

December 18, 1949 ~ March 03, 2009

Mom, as we remember you & the love, care & devotion which you lavished upon us, I am mindful of
the profound debt we owe to your Blessed memory. In addition to the gift of life, you provided
inspiration by word & example to make us appreciate the true meaning of life and to strive to fulfill
the best potential within us. Your departure has not been easy and has left us with a huge void but the memories we shared both in laughter & in tears give us the strength to continue to move forward.
LOVE AND MISS YOU ALWAYS, YOUR HUSBAND, CHILDREN AND
GRANDCHILDREN