Clessa Palmer Lyman Black (AKA Grandma Clessa) passed from this life on February 7th, 2011. Even though she was almost 95 years old I don't think any of us were quite ready for it. My dad told us the day before that the Doctor didn't expect her to make it another week. In the back of my head I kept thinking "we'll all be laughing next week when she is back home and has miraculously recovered" because she's always kind of been like a superhero. I shouldn't have been shocked to get the phone call the next morning, but I was.
We celebrated her life yesterday with a beautiful day filled with laughing, crying and catching up with cousins. I think at the end of the day we all felt a little overwhelmed with the thought of trying to live up to her amazing example. I've often thought that my family has lived pretty easy lives, with very little tragedy. I realized yesterday that my Grandma probably had enough tragedy in her lives for all of us. And through it all she was amazingly positive and happy. I wanted to write a few things down, some I've always know and some I learned yesterday, to make sure I never forget the kind of person that she was.
Her first husband, my Grandpa, died when my dad was just three months old. My Grandma was left with the task of raising five small children on her own. She started doing sewing for people and managed to survive. Before he died, Grandpa Lyman had been very sick and had been in and out of hospitals and wasn't able to provide more than just the necessities. Grandma said that this was a blessing because when he died they were used to not having much- What an amazing attitude she had. She also said that she was grateful that he didn't have any insurance because this made it so she had to work, while raising five kids. Meaning she woke at 5 am and began sewing and usually went to bed at midnight. This did not give her any time to pity herself so she was grateful for that. I can't even imagine having that attitude. This has made me realize how truly spoiled I am.
She lost her fourth son, Lloyd, when he was 16 in a car accident. She later said that she had dreams long before this incident where she would see the little red pickup in an accident. She never saw who was in the accident in the dreams but the day that Lloyd drove away in the pickup she had a strange feeling that she might not see him again. She said that this always gave her comfort to know that it was not an accident but part of the plan.
She married my Grandpa Black and took in his three children as her own. They have always been part of her family. Together her and Grandpa had two more children. In total Grandma had ten children that were actually her children, although she was constantly taking in other people who needed a place to stay.
One of my favorite stories of the day was told by my Uncle Mark. He said that when she had Gordon, her first child, she gave him a bath and put him on the counter top and began crying because she didn't have a clue what she was supposed to do with a baby. To me that just seemed so strange because she was Grandma, it seemed like she knew everything and must have just been born that way. It helps me to know that when I struggle with the every day challenges of raising children and knowing what to do she also had those same struggles and yet she turned out to be one of the most amazing women I know. I hope and pray that I can some day be half of the person she was. I am so very grateful for her example, we will all miss her more than she can ever know. I am also grateful for the knowledge of the plan of salvation. It gives me such comfort imagining the reunion between her and Grandpa Lyman as well as all the others that have passed before her. Love you Grandma.
I could go on forever, and I may remember other things that I want to remember and add more. Mostly I learned that I have lots to live up to.
