Mrs. Helen S. Adams

Like Nancy, Grandma also brought lot of things to my life that I would never have experienced without her. I didn't see Grandma very much growing up because we lived so far apart, but when we did see her it was always very special. It was always Shirley Temples with little umbrellas, and getting my hair braided at the hair salon. It was going to the zoo, or going swimming, or shopping. It was going through all the old "Wizard of Oz" and "Bobbsey Twins" books in her basement. I used to love wandering through her house looking around and trying to poke my nose into things without getting caught. Her home was full of things to keep a girl with a big imagination busy all day.

Grandma liked to give things. When I was little there was always something arriving in the mail from Grandma. My favorite was a sewing kit for my mom that had every beautiful color of thread you could think of. I used to stare it and organize it over and over. Then when I was older, it was not unusual for us to be sitting around watching TV and all of a sudden she would be giving us a frying pan or a Christmas ornament that she seemed to pull out of the sky. It was never something "expected", which sometimes made it amusing.

Grandma was always there for me if I needed her....just a phone call away. She loaned me 200 dollars when I was younger so I could move out on my own, and I never paid her back, and she never once asked for it. She always answered the phone when I called. She always cried when I said I loved her, which meant a lot to me because with the exception of my other Grandma, nobody has ever cried when I said those words. And now both Grandmas are gone and nobody else will ever appreciate my love as much as they did. She listened to me cry when I was in the hospital last year and she was the only person to send me flowers. She always wanted me to be the best person I could be, and now that I am older and hear her words come out of my mouth all the time when I am talking to my kids, I find myself understanding her and appreciating her more than I ever did before.

So to my Grandma I say thank you for loving me and for everything you did for me. I will miss you and love you always.

Like Nancy, Grandma also brought lot of things to my life that I would never have experienced without her. I didn't see Grandma very much growing up because we lived so far apart, but when we did see her it was always very special. It was always Shirley Temples with little umbrellas, and getting my hair braided at the hair salon. It was going to the zoo, or going swimming, or shopping. It was going through all the old "Wizard of Oz" and "Bobbsey Twins" books in her basement. I used to love wandering through her house looking around and trying to poke my nose into things without getting caught. Her home was full of things to keep a girl with a big imagination busy all day.

Grandma liked to give things. When I was little there was always something arriving in... READ MORE →

Helen has always been a big influence in my life. From the day I was born when she ran home on her lunch hour to see if I had been born. When she returned to school, our brother Pete (we believe to have been Mom's favorite) asked her whether I was a boy or girl. When Helen told him 'a girl', he told her in no uncertain terms that his mother would not do that to him. This supposdly made Helen so mad she caused a disturbance in the hallway. She was my friend and defender from that day.

Do you have any idea how a girl from Normal felt when she got to see the big city of New York. Helen and Win had Dona and I for a summer. I was in Jr. High. I was able to see the Rockettes, the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building. We laughed and said at least I would have something to write about if the teacher wanted to know what I had done that summer. I also visited the Adams in Dayton, Ft. Worth and more recently in Washington, D.C.

In the later years, Helen helped me when i needed a lot of support. We spent three weeks in an Iowa City Motel while Glen was taking treatments. It turned out to be a fun time even for Glen. Then there was the time she was helping me with a golf tournament and witnessed an 80 year old lady get a hole in one on one of our par three.

I'm going to miss our long phone calls and the chance to see her again.

Helen has always been a big influence in my life. From the day I was born when she ran home on her lunch hour to see if I had been born. When she returned to school, our brother Pete (we believe to have been Mom's favorite) asked her whether I was a boy or girl. When Helen told him 'a girl', he told her in no uncertain terms that his mother would not do that to him. This supposdly made Helen so mad she caused a disturbance in the hallway. She was my friend and defender from that day.

Do you have any idea how a girl from Normal felt when she got to see the big city of New York. Helen and Win had Dona and I for a summer. I was in Jr. High. I was able to see the Rockettes, the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building.... READ MORE →