{Our English Rose}

Some of you that are close to me know that in November of last year I lost my grandmother. I have been wanting to do a post about her, it would be selfish if I didn't share the wonderful Mrs. Patricia Ann Shirley with the world.

Grandma was born in Northampton, Enlgand on Jan 1st 1038 to the Taylors. Her birth certificate will show her as being born on the 2nd when it was actually the 1st. Since it was New Years there were no nurses there to fill it out the certificate so it had to wait till the next day. She was married to my grandpa on July 31 (maybe 1955ish). My grandpa Gerald was stationed in England and was lucky enough to steal my grandmas heart while in the Air Force. They were married in Northampton.

On April 30th of 1971 she completed her naturalization process and pledged her allegiance to the USA, proudly becoming an American citizen. She was the mother of 3 children, the grandmother of 5 grandchildren, and the great-grandmother of 6 great-grandchildren. She was amazing.

Grandma Shirley or Mema (we called her both) was a devoted OU football fan. She loved watching almost any sport but I think her favorites were Football, Soccer, Ice Skating and Bull Riding (? I think ?). She was also a very gifted gambler. She would tear it up whether is be on the slot machines or Texas Hold'em. Grandma was a great gardener and loved to sit out on her front porch.

Now is that hard part. As my eyes start to water, I will tell you of the kind of person/grandmother Patricia was. She was the best imaginable. The kind of grandmother whose touch brought instant relieve, the kind whose presence made you feel more secure. She had a witty sense of humor, she was bold and direct in what she said. Forgive me if I rambling and jumping around, my soul flows with emotion when trying to put into words the woman that was my grandma. My heart literally aches to know that my grandma is not here.

I was in the middle of shooting a wedding when I got the call that she had passed. I had gone out to be with her before the wedding, everyone could tell she was slipping away so we all hurried to be there with her. I can honestly say that was the hardest day i have had.

It doesn't feel right to say that we lost grandma. She wasn't lost. I feel more like she was found. Grandma is having the time of her life right now. I don't know why I was even sad really. I think that Grandma Shirley is probably sipping on a cup of spiked tea, playing on a slot machine, laughing and probably cussing a little bit too. She was a treasure while here on earth, now she is safe in the arms of the Lord.

I have a few things of my grandmas that mean the world to me so I thought with this post I would share some photos of them.

Her mothers wedding china. My grandpa and family were gracious enough to let me have it. I am very thankful.

Some jewelry. The ring, she gave to me personally. She had a ring of hers picked out for each of her granddaughters. And the necklace she gave to me not long before she died. I just thought it was pretty so she let me have it.

Her shoes. My grandpa gave these to me after she had died. I tried them on, what shoe fit and the other one didn't. So either grandma had two different shoe sizes, or I have two different shoe sizes.....

Here are some pictures from my grandparents wedding day. With her dad, isn't she stunning?

Newlyweds

 Grandma at the beach

My grandparents were and are such a huge part of my life. I owe them so much.

My mom, uncle and grandpa came up with "Our English Rose" to put on her grave. I think it is beautiful and describes her perfectly.

From my reading at her funeral:

"If there was one word I could use to describe Grandma, it would be Lovely. She was lovely from her hair, that she was so self-conscious about; to the red polish on her toes. Her stories she told of England were lovely, and of being a military wife. I will miss her raspy voice, which still had a lovely accent in it. I’ll miss the way she held my kids and how my son called her “Grandma Turley”. I will miss the way she would remember her 3 children, her 5 grandchildren, and her 6 great-grandchildren’s birthdays, and how she would sign all of our cards with lovely  X’s and O’s. I will miss the holler to Pa for a cup of tea.  But most of all I will miss her warm hugs and lovely kisses.

There will be times when we will all miss her so bad that it hurts, but I am comforted in knowing that on November 13^th, Heaven got a little lovelier."

For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. Thes. 4:14

In loving memory of Our English Rose.