She was born in 1918. The youngest of five, born to a conservative couple in Eaton, IN. She had five older brothers. Her father was a Secret Service agent until she was three years old. They then moved to Michigan for a time, only to return back to indiana when she was about 12. She married my grandfather at the age of 20. Nine months later my uncle was born, followed a year later by my aunt. In 1943, my mom was born.
My grandpa, soon after, left grandma. They divorced in 1944. He offered no support to her, so she went to work at Goodyear. Here, she helped manufacture tires for military vehicles in support of WWII. She was an original "Riveting Rosie".
She raised her three kids alone until she met a local merchant that owned his business. She would never want again.
She became the first female business owner in Muncie, Indiana when her husband passed in 1971 of cancer. She successfully served this community until 1980, when she decided to retire. In the interim, she had remarried to a WWII veteran and remained married until he passed away in 1982.
She continued to work until 2005 at the YWCA. She always had to stay busy.
Now, she has liver cancer. She was officially diagnosed in late 2007 at the age of 89. The doctors say she may have had this for several years because of the advanced status of the disease.
In the past 6 months, her condition has degenerated her from walking, to walkin with a cane. Last spring, we had to get her to use the walker. Now, she is confined to a wheelchair, unable to even walk.
It is sad to see this independant woman unable to even get to the bathroom on her own.
We were told that at end stage, cancer patients tend to reject their meds. This happened this last week. She is finding it hard to swallow the pills.
I thank you for taking the time to read this blog. This is a hard time for me. This woman is an icon to me. As a business woman, she has taught me sooooo much on how to be a businessman.
There is still so much of her story I want to tell, but I have limited time. I have to get over to my mom's now and help out a little before I have to get to work. I just hope at 90, I can achieve at least half of what my grandmother has accomplished.
Take care,
Colt
