Grandma and Sam

Two people who would very much have liked to attend your wedding but can't are your mother's parents, Grandma and Sam. It has been 25 years this past week that Grandma passed away!

Let's review a little more family history. Sam and Grandma both went to Bucknell University where they met and fell in love. Remember you also fell in love at Bucknell, with the school! They had three children, Uncle Bob, Uncle Peter and of course, your mother. Sam was from Sharon, PA in the western part of the state. Sam had two brothers, Phil and Fred. Grandma's parents were from Brooklyn and Sea Cliff, NY (where Mom's grandfather was Mayor, and his full time job was a decorator in NYC). Grandma was an only child, so she was happy when her family was blessed with three children. Grandma and Sam raised their family on Long Island in both Hicksville and Glen Head. Summer vacations were spent in Sharon and there was a brief time when the family moved to Glen Ellyn, a suburb of Chicago, but moved back to Long Island after about a year. They sent all three of the children off to college and helped them all to three lasting, successful, beautiful and blessed marriages. Grandma and Sam also provided your mother and me a fabulous wedding. It was so classy and traditional! They would love your island location and the wedding on the water! Sam was stricken in his early 60's with Alzheimer's and he and Grandma moved south to Florida with us and enjoyed a year of retirement together before he had to go into a nursing home. Grandma's dedication to Sam was unbelievable. She spent all day, everyday, with him in the nursing home until he died many years later. You were lucky in that Grandma stayed close to us in both Florida and Ohio remaining an important part of our life all those years. I feel sorry for your aunts, uncles and cousins that this dedication prevented her from being present more in their lives as I know she wished. Sam, with his disease was a mere shadow of the vibrant, handsome, successful man he was before you were first born. My first thought of them is that they would enjoy your wedding I know that when I walk you down the aisle, we will be continuing their legacy of family, joy and love. And somewhere they will be smiling and sharing this wonderful experience with us.