Until We Meet Again

My dad just called me to tell me that my grandmother passed away. I wanted to write a little tribute to her. I love you Grandma!

Rita Rosalie Fink Pittl
December 10, 1921 - September 9, 2008

The top 2 lessons that come to mind when I think of my grandma are the top 2 lessons I think we all should learn and apply to life.

First, she taught me to love God and to have Faith in Him. We are of different denominations as I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and my grandmother has been a devout Catholic her entire life. Every time I visited her I would see her Bible on her side table open to the passages she had read that day. I also saw her Rosary beads that she would pray with daily. I went to Mass several times with her while I was growing up, but she went every single week. When it became physically impossible for her to attend Mass, she had a minister from her church come to her house each week to administer the eucharist to her (the sacrament in LDS terminology). My grandmother did not just study her religion though, she lived it by loving and serving others.

That brings me to the second lesson she taught me and that is to love your family with everything you have. My grandma was born to parents that were both previously married. Her dad's wife died early in their marriage. Her mother had 2 children with her first husband before he died. After her parents married they had 4 more children together. These 6 children (3 boys and 3 girls) were siblings, not half-siblings as society likes to call them today. My grandma was very close to them, as well as her nieces and nephews.

My grandmother married at a very tender age of 15 and had 11 children. When the youngest was 2 years old (and my grandma was only 37), my grandpa left her. My grandmother worked hard to keep her family together because she did not want her children to have to go to an orphanage. Through all of their struggles she never spoke badly of my grandpa and would chastise her children if she heard them doing so. She had such a forgiving heart and prayed for my grandpa's soul even after he passed away last year.

When I was born I was her 35th grandchild (of 43). Her first great-grandchild is only 3 months younger than me. His oldest child is older than mine, so my grandma became a great-great grandma before I even became a mother! In this Grand Matriarch's family there are no half's, step's, adopted, in-law's, or out-law's (exes) there is simply family. She taught that how you love someone is more important than what blood runs through their veins. As I am a product of divorce and blended families, I'm grateful for her example that my family is my family period. We may be non-traditional, but we know how to love each other.

I was telling my dad that even though I'm glad she's not suffering anymore, I'm so sad because I'll miss her so much through out the rest of my life. My dad told me he understands, but instead of seeing today as a sad day on earth we should see it as a happy day in heaven. I'm sure there's a happy celebration going on up there. My grandma always spoke so highly of her mother, and I'm sure her mother is with her now. I bet she's having a sweet reunion with all of her siblings too. I also think my Uncle Tom and my cousins Paul, JR, Amber, and Louie will be there to get a warm hug from grandma. I'll miss you grandma, but I know I'll see you again. I love you and thank you for everything you taught me.