“She never forgave him for dying?”
“So close to their diamond wedding anniversary, you see. She missed out on their message from the queen.”
“She will not be happy now then.” Memory brought life back to the face of the redoubtable dame who had been my great-grandmother. “So close to a hundred.”
Mary Elizabeth Hannah, my great-grandmother in her nineties.
A true story… my great grandfather seriously upset his wife by dying shortly before their sixtieth wedding anniversary. They had married in 1912, they would both be twenty that year. Their courtship had involved great grandad walking across the moors to court the pretty young lass he had fallen in love with. When he died in 1970, Great Grandma was devastated. Not only because she was sort of used to having him around, but because she would no longer qualify for the congratulatory telegram from Her Majesty that was sent out to mark such occasions… and she had been counting down the years.
She was indeed a redoubtable woman and had far more birthdays than was her fair share. The handwritten certificate of her birth gave the date as ‘the 30th, the last day of March.’ As there are thirty-one days in that month and she herself was uncertain which date was correct, she insisted on celebrating her birthday twice.
Great Grandma, in spite of ill health, retained her character and humour and, although they remember very little of their ‘very old grandma’, my sons had their great-great-grandmother in their lives until my youngest son was nearly four.
When it became clear that she was finally about to give up the ghost, she hung on with all the determination she could muster but just failed to reach her centenary by a matter of months. Great Grandma was really not pleased about missing out on both her telegrams from the queen.
Sue Vincent's Daily Echo 
Love the back history of the story!
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I was so lucky to have my great-grandparents around for so long 🙂
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You were! I knew one of mine..my great grandma from my mums paternal side. She was a true Indian matriarch of her family. Lived until104 but the last few years of her life were hard as she never got over losing her son, my grandfather so early and horrifically (he was shot by intruders at his farm. ) x
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How terrible that must be… I can almost understand that, even though I didn’t quite lose Nick it did look as if I would for a long time.
I knew several of mine…but this one managed to be there for yet another generation. x
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You are truly blessed.
I never knew my paternal grandparents… they passed away. My Pops didn’t ever really know his dad but his mum passed away when he was at university. My mums parents I was blessed to know. But Nanaji passed away as I said when I was 6. He was a great man. Left an amazing g legacy due to his philanthro6in Kenya. My grandma was there until I was 23… though she was in a different country.
I did get to develop a lovely relationship with both my granny-in-laws after I married and before they passed away.
I’m just so glad my children have all 4 of their grandparents 😊
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I don’t think we truly appeciate the full extent of that blessing until we are older… but to have grown up listening to stories of life in Victorian and Edwardian times from those who lived them was a real gift. x
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The inspiration you could draw on for years to come 😍
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And I do 🙂
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A perfect tribute every time 😊
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❤
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What an amazing story, Sue! 60 years married! I hope I last that long 😀
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Not quite… sadly. Grandad is probably still having his ear chewed for that one 😉
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Your grandmother sounds like a strong woman. “Growing old isn’t for sissies.” Bette Davis
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Her nickname was, in fact, ‘Sissy’ 🙂
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How ironic!
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She would have appreciated the joke 😉
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Oh, what bad luck for her to miss out on two telegrams from the Queen, especially the centenary one by a few months.
She sounded a formidable woman, Sue. 🙂
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She was a remarkable lady, Judy. 🙂
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I suspect that when her Majesty reached the afterlife, she and Great Grandma will have an interesting conversation. 😀
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As Grandma lived through the rigns of six monarchs of the land, I can see a few such conversations 😉
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I love strong women 😀 You come from very solid stock!
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Good Yorkshire blood… 🙂
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Well done Sue. And what a story! ❤ 🙂
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She was quite a woman, Debby 🙂 x
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It sure sounded like it. And no doubt you’ve inherited some of her qualities. 🙂 x
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I may find out, in a decade or so 😉
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🙂 ❤
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You were indeed fortunate to have great grandparents for so long. I can understand the disappointment of missing two congratulatory messages. Great remembrance, Sue. 🙂 — Suzanne
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What an awesome backstory -although your poor nan she must be cursing up there!
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Grandad is probably still running 😉
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Hahaha
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It was amazing . Loved the way you wrote it.
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Thank you.
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