Last Friday my last living grandparent passed away. Marge Hubbs, my paternal grandmother, was 94. She had been on a slow decline for a few years now, and finally succumbed to old age at a hospice house in Springdale, Arkansas.

Originally from Kansas, Marge married Lloyd Hubbs when they were both still teenagers, and raised four children: Don, Lou, Joy, and David. Over the years they moved from Kansas to Nebraska, then Oklahoma, and finally in retirement to Arkansas. Lloyd and Marge were married for 62 years until he passed away in 2011. She was also preceded in death by her oldest son, my father Don, and a great-grandchild, Burke Grette. I am waiting on my aunt to complete the official obituary, but by my unofficial count she is survived by three children, 10 grandchildren, and a dozen-ish great-grandchildren.

Sadly I was never particularly close to my grandparents or much of my extended family. When I was a kid we usually lived at some distance away from them, so visits were once or twice a year for a few days. She was small (and shorter as she got older and osteoporosis kicked in) but spunky, managing a mischievous husband and four opinionated kids with a sense of humor. I remember her visit to our home in Iowa 10 years ago when my kids taught her the game Apples to Apples and she proceeded to win her first time playing. Even after moving to assisted living she was actively leading exercise classes for her peers. As her body slowed her down, she stayed involved in game days, confiding to her family that she had to let the other senior center folks win at bingo from time to time so they didn’t get mad at her. 😂

The pictures here are from my grandparents' visit to our place in Iowa twenty years ago, a few months after the birth of our oldest daughter. This is how I like to remember them. Cheerful, kind old souls who, having been through a lot of life, still enjoyed a good joke, a game of cards, a new baby in the family. There is a legacy of faith, love, hard work, and cheerful service that I am sure I owe in no small part to them.

Rest in peace, Grandma.