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Post by Mister Spaceman on Mar 31, 2022 19:51:54 GMT -5
My condolences for your loss, Mormel. May your memories of your time with her bring you comfort.
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Post by codystarbuck on Mar 31, 2022 21:23:05 GMT -5
My grandmother passed away today, aged 93, after having suffered two strokes last week. In the weekend while in hospital she had kidney failure and stopped eating. She was no longer able to speak but continued communicating with my mother and aunts through her eyes and hand-squeezing. She was given a sleeping medicine yesterday and slept for 24 hours till it was decided to give her another sedative and have her pass on. She was born in Batavia in the Netherlands East Indies (today Jakarta, Indonesia) into the large mixed-race Eurasian community. When she was 14, Imperialist Japan occupied Indonesia and she spent 3 years in internment in a monastery. After Indonesia became an independent nation, she opted to re-locate to the Netherlands in 1957 because of the unstable socio-political climate. There she met my grandfather, who was likewise Indonesian Eurasian and who had moved there a couple years prior. She lived what most people nowadays would call an unassuming life, as a housewife mostly devoted to the care of her four daughters, to whom she provided an environment of endless love and care. A constant was her love for animals, and there were always pets in the house, among which many dogs through the years. She had a great love for music and was always aware of the latest trends in pop music; she was a huge fan of Elvis from his debut until her dying day, and pictures of him adorned her room walls. She herself also had a fine singing voice. As a grandmother, her love and devotion to each of her five grandchildren knew no bounds. She was practically like a second parent to me in the absence of my father in that role as he was struggling with addiction. Trivial though this may sound, she was a genuine fan of many of the cartoons she would watch along with me, and especially took to Transformers and X-Men; her favourites from the latter were Wolverine and Storm. It was always really cool to be able to share that with my grandma. Over the last decade or so her health had been deteriorating steadily, and she spent most of her time lying down in her bed (which was placed in the living room at my aunt's house) for the last 5 years. Naturally we had all been worried for her health for a long time now, and sadly no one has eternal life. Until fairly recently, she always maintained a very healthy diet, and she was one of the best cooks I've ever known. At the moment of writing this, and only an hour after receiving the phone call that she passed away, I strangely feel very little sadness. Instead, I'm proud of her having lived a life in which she was a giver of unending love and care, and proud that she was a fighter even in her last moments. Aside from that, I feel relieved that any pain and inconvenience she was experiencing in her old age, have now ended. At 93, she was truly able to look back on a full life with more highs than lows, having warmed the hearts of many people she met along the way. She will be missed, but she will always be with us as well. Mormel, I am sorry for your loss; but, your words do great credit to the obvious love you had for your grandmother and you paint a wonderful picture of her. My grandfather lived to be 92, outliving two wives and a child. As you say, when his time came, I didn't feel great sadness, though I knew I was going to miss seeing him. He had lived a long full life and given me nothing but good memories and it sounds like what you experienced with your grandmother. I though of all the wonder my grandfather saw, in his lifetime, as he was born near the beginning of the 20th Century: the first airplanes, mankind walking on the moon and orbiting the planet, computers, the polio vaccine. He saw terrible things too, like the Atomic bomb and two world wars; but, he always celebrated life, which he was close to, as a farmer. As Neil Gaiman said in the Sandman series, we all get a lifetime. It sounds like your grandmother lived a full one. Take care.
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,786
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Post by shaxper on Apr 1, 2022 9:40:59 GMT -5
Happy birthday, MWGallaher! Hope you are living it up today.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Apr 1, 2022 9:45:48 GMT -5
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Post by Mormel on Apr 1, 2022 10:45:56 GMT -5
Thanks again for the words of kindness, you guys. We will have the memorial service on Wednesday.
And happy birthday M.W. Gallaher.
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Post by Prince Hal on Apr 1, 2022 11:53:28 GMT -5
Happy Birthday, MWGallaher ! And in your honor, I'm posting the first Jim Aparo Brave and the Bold cover (his third overall) that would have been on sale around your birthday (in 1973!)
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Post by Deleted on Apr 1, 2022 14:10:31 GMT -5
Happy Birthday!!
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Post by tartanphantom on Apr 1, 2022 14:25:31 GMT -5
I'm late to this. Mormel, prayers and kindest condolences for your loss, and thank you for sharing your wonderful memories in the midst of it. MWGallaher, many happy returns. Just remember that a birthday celebration in Alabama is not complete without a pony keg of the cheapest beer you can find, a stack of red Solo cups, and Lynyrd Skynyrd blaring from the 8-track deck.
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Post by Rob Allen on Apr 1, 2022 16:12:20 GMT -5
Catching up after a few days away...
Happy Birthday to M.W. Gallaher!
Condolences to Mormel. As far as social media, I've been on LinkedIn for a long time, and Facebook for a few years. Tartanphantom, I found you on LinkedIn but it told me you preferred not to link. There have been a few other CCFers on LinkedIn but I actually use it only to keep in touch with a few people who aren't on Facebook. On Facebook I periodically join a bunch of groups and then drop the ones that don't keep my interest.
A more specialized social media site is FetLife. I'm happy to exchange FetLife IDs with any CCFers who are there.
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Post by berkley on Apr 1, 2022 16:36:36 GMT -5
Echoing the happy birthday wishes to MWG and the condolences to Mormel
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Post by Mister Spaceman on Apr 1, 2022 20:18:31 GMT -5
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Post by MWGallaher on Apr 1, 2022 20:40:56 GMT -5
Happy Birthday, MWGallaher ! And in your honor, I'm posting the first Jim Aparo Brave and the Bold cover (his third overall) that would have been on sale around your birthday (in 1973!) I believe that was my first subscription issue of B&B, too!
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Post by codystarbuck on Apr 1, 2022 21:44:49 GMT -5
Happy Birthday, MWGallaher ! And in your honor, I'm posting the first Jim Aparo Brave and the Bold cover (his third overall) that would have been on sale around your birthday (in 1973!) I didn't know Batman went after DB Cooper.....
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Post by adamwarlock2099 on Apr 1, 2022 22:19:47 GMT -5
First date night with momma since 2020. It was nice. Good Mexican food and a couple of Negra Modellos. Nice end to the day.
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Post by Rob Allen on Apr 1, 2022 23:49:12 GMT -5
Negra Modelo has always been my favorite Mexican beer.
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