I started this post a month ago and am just now getting back to it. Sorry it took me so long! And I have never seen the hashtag before but I felt like #latergram was for Instagram :)
In early June, I was in Massachusetts celebrating the life of my grandmother, Madeline Goff James, who lived 96.5 years on this Earth. You can scroll to the bottom to read her obituary, which shows the legacy she leaves behind her. But, I'm not going to lie, for a 96 year old she packed out the church for her memorial service.
I never heard a cross word from my grandmother, ever! She was so sweet and she was really a wonderful lady. The whole time she was at my parents house in the 6 months before she passed she just enjoyed the view and was so grateful for their willingness to love and nurture her in her last days. When I went home to visit she told me she felt like she was in a hotel with "such treatment"! She also told me "don't ever live this long", as if I have a choice!!!
And she never complained, and because of that she was the best patient. :) She loved going out on the "piazza" like I said in an earlier post and she really did do that up until the few days before she passed. So her last months and weeks were peaceful, relaxing and full of things that kept her happy.
I always remembered my grandmother with white hair and I don't think I ever saw any photos of her from when she was younger, until I was there for the memorial. She was a pretty lady!
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My grandparents. I never met my grandfather, he had passed several years before I was born,
and my grandmother on their wedding day. |
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| So pretty! |
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| This reminds me of Anne of Green Gables with the puffed sleeves |
And this is how I can remember her!
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My mom's parents (Fran and Steve Rowen) are on the left and then
my dad's mom is on the right (Madeline James) ohhhh and that's me in the little white dress ;) |
But back to the legacy living on... she's living on through her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, friends, neighbors, swimming buddies and anyone else who she met on the street.
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| I kid you not, every James Family photo looks something like this, so I felt it appropriate to show her first generation legacy like this. Top Left: my dad, Aunt Sue, Autnt Di, Uncle Will. Sitting: Mern and my Aunt Bay |
Madeline (Goff) James, "Maddie" age 96, of Swansea died May 29, 2014 at her son's home. She was the wife of the late Henry C. James.
Born in East Providence, a daughter of the late Adelbert and Edna (Carpenter) Goff, she spent her youth in RI, moving to Swansea in 1954. She was a graduate of East Providence High School and attended Bryant College.
Mrs. James worked as a secretary for the Swansea Water District, retiring in 1986. She was a longtime member of the First Christian Congregational Church where she served as secretary and worked in its Thrift Shop. She was a member of the Swansea Garden Club, and the Swansea Historical Society.
She was well known for her braided rugs, cane back chairs and refinished antique furniture. She enjoyed knitting, baking, sewing, gardening, writing letters, entertaining friends and, most of all, spending time with her family. An exceptional woman, she was most content helping others. She was a lifelong swimmer, swimming regularly up until her 96th birthday.
Surviving are two sons: Robert G. James and wife Susan of Sandwich, and William Henry James, DC and wife Desiree of Livingston, NJ; three daughters: Susan Demers and husband Robert, Marianne "Bay" Owen, all of Little Compton, and Diane R. James, DC of Oakland, CA; 11 grandchildren, five great grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. She was sister of the late Adelbert Anthony Goff, Marion Borden and Ruth Hetherington.
