My grandmother, Theresa Bolesny Klein, lived well over 99 years. In that time, she loved participating in countless life celebrations; birthdays, baptisms, 1st communions, graduations, weddings, anniversaries, etcetera. She also suffered countless losses of family members and friends over the years and felt those losses deeply. But throughout her life, Theresa trusted in the Lord. She trusted in His Perfect Plan, and she led a faith-filled life.
My grandmother was born Theresia Bolesny on December 15th, 1910 in New York City to parents Wenzel, a chimney sweep, and Mary Mesznik Bolesny, who had emigrated from Beckskarek, Austria-Hungary around 1908. When Theresia was two years old, the family moved to Mansfield, Ohio where Theresia loved playing with her teddy bear. She had a great fondness of stuffed bears all her life, and one of her favorite belongings in the nursing home was a little girl bear wearing an Indians t-shirt; Gramma was a huge fan of the Cleveland Indians for many years.
Theresia went to elementary school in Mansfield as Tracy Bolesny and graduated from the 8th grade. As a young teenager, her hobby was putting together a scrapbook of movie stars. She also loved going out dancing and went as often as possible. Tracy's parents could not afford to buy her books in high school, so she never attended beyond the 8th grade, but after a couple years, her mother Mary cleaned offices in exchange for Tracy's tuition to the Mansfield Ohio Business College. After some business training, Tracy worked as a secretary for a short time until she married Phil Klein on July 28, 1928 and moved to Cleveland. By that time, my Gramma was known alternately as Theresa, Tracy, Sis (to her beloved younger brothers Wence, John, and "Baby Brother" Al), and, as my grandfather Phil liked to call her, Blondie.
Theresa and Phil's only child, my mother Norma, was born July 1, 1929. Phil lost his bricklaying job during the Great Depression, but was able to find work as a milkman, while Theresa frugally sewed and mended most of their clothing, cooked inexpensively, kept their rented house spic and span, and cared for little Norma. Theresa especially enjoyed sewing, and when times got better and Phil was laying brick again, she often stayed up quite late, sewing tiny clothes for Norma's dolls. Theresa enjoyed other handwork that her mother Mary had taught her, too, creating beautiful embroidered and crocheted pieces.
Theresa regularly took Norma on trolley cars to go roller skating and to tap dance and tumbling classes. At home, Theresa taught Norma about household tasks and good manners and passed down to her core values of a strong faith in God and love of family. Years later, when Theresa was about 40 years old, she joined the Order of the Eastern Star, affiliated with the Masons. She attended meetings regularly and did volunteer work. She rose through the ranks and was inducted as Worthy Matron of the Denison Chapter in 1959. She did much work for the organization over the years. She also did volunteer work at a local hospital arranging flowers, and she was a volunteer receptionist for the American Red Cross.
My strongest childhood memories of my Gramma are that she was always a lady. Appropriate attire and appearance, good manners, and proper etiquette were extremely important to her. Whenever I visited her, I always wore a fresh dress, and I played with her empty perfume bottles, which were beautiful and numerous, and I always took care to remember to sit like a lady when I was with her.
Theresa saw many inventions and innovations during her 99 years on Earth, and she was excited to use new technology. She had listened to live music, drama and variety shows on the radio as a child and young adult, but loved her first television, a Motorola television set which Phil bought in the 1950's. I have fond memories of Gramma and Grandpa enjoying the Lawrence Welk variety show on that TV in the early 1960's and afterwards savoring a dish of Whitehouse ice cream, which was vanilla with cherries, their favorite flavor.
Another advance she saw was the electric washer and dryer, which she used occasionally as a timesaver, but mostly she preferred using her old wooden washboard, which fit over her bathtub where she hand-washed nearly everything and then loved hanging it all out in the fresh air to dry, even when she was in her 80's. Theresa learned to use both a manual typewriter and an electric typewriter as a young wowan, but taught herself to use an electronic typewriter when she was in her 60's, although she preferred to handwrite all her personal correspondence.
Theresa enjoyed learning, and although she never used a microwave oven or a computer, she did learn to drive shen she was 59 years old and enjoyed the independence of driving , even into her late 80's.
Theresa was always close to her mother Mary, and loved taking Norma, and years later Norma and me, on a bus to visit her mom on the farm in Peninsula, where Norma would pick corn and eat it fresh while Theresa's mom would cook pigs in a blanket (stuffed cabbage) and palachenka ( a donut-like treat).
Another trip Theresa always loved was the annual vacation to Wasaga Beach, Canada, where she and my mom would sunbathe, my dad and Phil would go golfing, and I would delight in digging deep holes in the sand and floating in a truck tire innertube. Those were always great vacations and wonderful memories for all of us.
After my mom Norma died in 1972 after a 3-year struggle with cancer, Theresa and Phil mostly clung to their good friends. They moved to Ashland in the late 1970's to be near their best friends (Phil's best man and his wife). They enjoyed a couple good years together in Meadowbrook Park before circumstances left Theresa grieving the loss of her husband Phil and her best friends. But Theresa was a very independent person and loved her home in Ashland, the first home she and Phil had ever owned, and she loved Ashland itself, the city with a country feeling. Theresa continued to keep up her own place and cook and sew for herself and bake the most delicious at banana nut bread in the world for me and my family. She lived in Meadowbrook Park until she fell and broke her hip in August of 2001.
For the next 8 1/2 years, Theresa lived at The Good Shepherd Nursing Home in Ashland, where she often participated in Bingo, tea socials, crafts, and various other activities with the help of the wonderful, dedicated caregiving staff there. Up until a few weeks ago, Theresa was still scooting herself down the halls in her wheelchair, and when asked how she was feeling, would often start singing, "The old grey mare, she ain't what she used to be..." with a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye.
I will miss my Gramma, but I know she had been looking forward to going Home to her Maker for many, many years, and so I would like to celebrate her life and her passing on, and hope that she and the rest of our loved ones in Heaven are saving us a good spot.
Peace be with you, Gramma.
Until we meet again.......
Eileen
