oops, I may have posted this entry twice, lol — October 16, 2023
Today marks an anniversary of a death of my grandmother Myra Irene Fox’s death. Grandma Myra Irene Fox. If she was alive today, she would be 104 and her husband Clarence Valentine Fox would be 111. Grandma died on this day in 1997 at Mercy Hospital in a private room. She passed away at age 77 on October 1, one day short of her 78th birthday on October 2. Mom and I were in the room. I did not feel her pass away like my mom did. Mom was holding her had when Grandma passed, and the feeling of Grandma leaving her shell behind was a feeling Mom never felt before. She could not describe the feeling, but she knew Grandma had left her shell behind.
Where was my grandpa, Clarence Valentine Fox? He was in a nursing home being taken care of because he had severe dementia, and a couple of days before grandma passed, grandpa did not quite understand why she was in the hospital and not with him. He knew that Myra was his wife. His visit was the last one and when we had Grandma My’s memorial service, Grandpa Clarence did not understand that his wife Myra had passed, and Grandpa declined in memory after that as far as people were concerned.
Grandpa Clarence passed away 6 years later in Landsun, NM before my mom could get to him, but o learned that was the way Grandpa Clarence wanted to go -- no family at his side. On Feb 14, 2003, I got a call from my mom, and knowing when she calls on a day that is not our Sunday call, I sensed death had hit the family again. When I picked up my phone and could hear mom crying, I knew Grandpa Clarence had died. Mom did not say anything until I said and asked, ‘grandpa’s gone, isn’t he?’ Mom said, ‘yes, he is.’ I let Mom have her tears while I had mine. We did not have to say anything more that evening. I was sick with a cold and feeling yucky while Emilee Marie Cuddles was putting all of eight against me so I would stop shaking as I missed some school and was preparing for a math test the following week. I knew Grandpa would not want me to miss a test.I did not and passed the test with an A. Thanks, Grandpa!