Since it is the day after Mother's day and near the big wedding month of June, I thought I would take this chance to brag on some of my women relatives who have been blessed to be married 50 + years. They have certainly provided a Godly example of what loving their mate through it all really looks like. Not only that, they show mine and future generations the truth about the marriage committment!
I began thinking about this a couple of weeks ago. I wondered how many of mine and Bill's relatives had been married 50+ years. I realize that health conditions may have cut short some of these unions as well. I will try and give you a little background on these people as well as I can remember.
My paternal grandparents: Edith and Paul Good. They were married on Sept 9, 1933. The moved to Jonesborough TN early in their marriage (from Iowa--i think). My Pappaw was a farmer and he also was a milk man until he decided to go into business for himself. He converted a school bus into a rolling store and provided door-to-door service for many out in the rural counties of east Tennessee. I had the pleasure of riding his route with him one time. Every one loved Pappaw Paul; including his grandkids because we got to pick free candy out of the store/bus. I remember Pappaw for two thing mostly: he always wore overalls (even to church) and he rarely used the indoor plumbing facilities but preferred doing his "business" in the outhouse by the hen barn. My Mammaw Edith stayed at home and made Pappaw the happy man he was. I remember her enjoying crossword puzzles alot. She had a couple of strokes in her later days and her family helped take care of her at home until her last days (they did this for over 2 years). When she passed she was 76 and she and Pappaw had been married for 55 years. That is a long time, and you have to know that not every minute of it was sweet, but somehow they found a way to make it work, and work well.
Just two and a half years later Pappaw died at the age of 78 of some kind of cancer that was discovered after Mammaw died. I was 26 when my Mammaw Edith died. She left me a picture of her and Pappaw sitting on the bumper of their old Ford car because I thought Pappaw was so handsome in that picture.
My maternal grandparents were also referred to as Mammaw and Pappaw. Luther Chase and Euna (Tommy) were married for around 40 years. My Pappaw Luther passed on Feb. 2, 1977. He was the first of my grandparents to die and I was 15 years old. My Pappaw Luther had several health problems and was often quite grumpy. Just being honest. He also had emphysema (and continued to smoke) and also had what they then called palsy. He moved slow and this makes me think he actually had Parkinson's disease. He worked for many years at Eastman, reitired in disability, and then as a part-time farmer and constable. His hand might have shook when not holding a pistol, but when he went to a turkey shoot he usually came back with a turkey for the freezer. My Mammaw Tommy ( a nickname she got at a young age for being a tomboy) was the apple of this granddaughter's eye. She was a wonderful cook, and a great baby sitter. The only thing was when you stayed at her house and she gave you a bath, you thought she was rubbing your skin off while getting you clean. To this day when I smell Ivory soap I think of the bath at her house and smile. Pappaw Luther died of a heart attack while driving his car from his house to store at the foot of Stewards Hill in Jonesborough TN. My Mammaw lived in their home several years after Pappaw died and then moved to a rental house across the street from my parents. It was nice to have her there. She got to see and be a part of my daughter and Karen's son's life until her death in Feb. 1997. She lived 20 years after her husband and died from Congestive Heart Failure. I was 35 at the time of her death and she was the last of mine and Bill's grandparents to die. The kids called her Gran gran for Great-Grandmother. She was a joy to everyone she met. A beautiful soul that loved God and her children. I am having some problems finding when they were married but I don't think they made it to 50 years (based on Pappaw's age at his death), but they were probably close.
While I am still on my side of the family, I am very proud to say my own parents celebrated 50 years of marriage and mom died before they could have met the 51 year marker. They were married on June 15, 1959 and mom died May 10, 2010. My dad took very good care of mom for the 3 times in 10 years that she fought colon cancer (matatisized to kidney and bone later on) and it took a long time for him to speak of her after her death without shedding a tear. I know that theirs was a love that stood the test of physical sickness yet remained intact as God intended. We celebrated their 50th with a big reception at their church. So many people came and mom was a trooper; she stood for much of it with the aid of a cane. Just a couple of months later we would go to Vanderbilt for her to have surgery to repair her cracked hip bone from the cancer that had taken it's final hold. She came home and in the fall had her last trip to the hospital where doctors told us she had 2 weeks to 2 months to live. My mom lived to celebrate Thanksgiving, Christmas, her birthday (in April 2010) before she passed about a week after Mother's Day 2010. Her last day was spent with family by her side. Her last words to me were "Don't cry; it will be ok." I still cry many dayts when I think about her being my best friend, and how God blessed me to be her daughte and the time I had with her for 48 years. She taught me many things, but the most important thing she taught me was to trust in God and to commit to Him as my personal Lord and Savior. The day that we laid my mom's body to rest, it started out as a rather dreary day, cold and windy. But after the graveside service was over, I stood on top of the hill at Washington County Memory Gardens and felt the sun break through the clouds and I knew that my mom was beaming her trademark smile for me from heaven and I knew it was going to be OK.
Now turning to Bill's side of the family. His parents were also married over 50 years. We had a small celebration at their home for their 50th and Mom Kate was already showing signs of mini strokes or Alzheimer's disease. Although she did not remember some folks that came by to see her and Dad that day, you could tell she was proud to be there by his side. Dad Bill took great care of mom at home as long as he could, but a fall one day created an injury that would prevent her from being mobile so a decision was made for her to enter a skilled nursing facility where she stayed until she died on Dec 3, 2009, six months before my mother did.
Bill's paternal grandparents also celebrated at least 50 years of marriage. William Shufford Hensley married Blanche Augusta Reed on July 11, 1929. Nanny Hensley died in October 1983 just 2 months before we got married. Coincidentally, the day we got married we to the VA to see his other Grandpa Hodges who was in the hospital and died shortly after we were married. Nanny and Pappaw Hensley were married 54 years at the time of her death. Pappaw Hensley lived out in Telford TN for a while and then moved to VA to stay with his daughter, Jerry until his death. What a treasure they were to know. Nanny was always so happy even though she suffered with severe arthritis.
Bill's maternal grandfather was Weldon Floyd Hodges. He was a funny man who joined the Navy before he was eligible age-wise and he loved to fish and play a good joke on his friends and family. His marriage to "Mammy" was his second so I am not sure how long they were married. I remember Kate telling about how Mammy loved to get a good one over on her kids at times. It is no wonder that Kate got her penchant for pulling a good on over on you if you knew her well. Mammy died shortly after we moved back to Johnson City from Nashville, two years after we were married.
I know this summary might be boring to anyone else, but I wrote it to capture what I know and how proud I am of my parents, my in-laws and mine and Bill's grandparents love and examples they set for us. I thank God for each of them and their long-term commitment to one another.
Hopefully we can continue the tradition. We are over half the way to 50 years. At the end of 2015 Bill and I will celebrate 32 years together. I am praying we have many more years together...cause I don't know how to live with anyone else. We dated for 5 years before we got married so I have known Bill Hensley for 37 years...!!! We started dating in high school, and well that's a story for another day.
judy
may 13, 2015
How exciting
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