Gramma June - May you rest in peace

My grandmother in Canada June Bertrum passed away two weeks ago on Friday the 10th of August. She has been confined to a bed in a nursing home for the last five years, but the woman I remember her as is very different to the image I saw of her the last time I visited in 2005. Gramma June was tall and her presence filled any room she walked into, maybe due to her many years as a dancer in her youth. She made the best develled eggs in the world and her short bread cookies used to make my mouth water just thinking about them! I remember her trying to make me eat shrimp when I was eleven and I was having none of it, now I would do anything for her shrimp salad. I will never forget the day she told me she played 'Bridge' with Brain Adams mother!
As many of you know, my family is spread all around the world which makes for interesting holidays and conversations; however, on the down side it has also meant that there has been a lot of time lost with extended family. Gramma June used to always tell me that she would have loved a daughter. She had two fine big sons, one of whom is my father, but she said she would have liked someone to share her love of pretty things. I love pretty things, bags, shoes, and accessories, so I will claim that some of that comes from my Canadian grandmother. I only wish I could have had more time to share that with her.
The photo above is that last time I visited her in her house in Richmond, Vancouver. This is how I will remember her, not as the old lady in the nursing home, but as the vivacious blond grandmother in the photograph.