We are very blessed to have such a wonderful family. I am very thankful for the support and happiness that our family provides us. In particular one thing that Anna and I both share is a strong affection for our grandparents. I am not sure how we were so fortunate to have the best grandparents in the world. I personally lost both of my grandmothers a week apart when I was in sixth grade. However, since that time I have been very fortunate to gain four new grandmothers and one of those grandmothers was Elaine Wightman (or known to the family and everyone who knows Anna as Mummy.) We officially became family when Anna and I were married in December of 2003, but she adopted me years earlier.
Mummy was one of the most unique and remarkable individuals that I ever met. I never once heard her complain or speak badly of others. She was selfless, donating her time and money to the college, church, and hospital. I am very thankful for the time I got to spend with her over the past eleven years. Some of that time was spent alone in a car with her riding back from different family functions while I was in college. She always volunteered for the dubious honor of making the 50 minutes one way drive to Due West to get me back to school. Though not the best driver (Anna notes that she always drove 50 mph whether on the interstate or school zone) these trips were a very enjoyable time for me. When I say she was remarkable, it was an understatement. She told me stories about being in England during WWII, bombs landing nearby. One of the stories included a military officer illegally giving her some military only gasoline because the store station was out and that she fretted the whole trip home that she would be arrested. We discussed the times at Erskine during integration and civil rights. She told me about the time her husband gave a young student a ride to the interstate so he could hitchhike home after being expelled for visiting the female dorm after hours. I never met her husband Joe, but she loved him dearly and spoke very fondly of him (except for his dancing.) After college I found myself visiting her in Swansgate to help her with a computer problem (amazingly she readily sent emails) or to change an occasional light bulb. She would always give me $20 (added bonus,) but I gained a lot more.
Over the past few years Mummy’s health has been deteriorating. We will miss her dearly but know that she is comfortable. In the future, I hope to share these stories with our children, but more importantly I hope to impart on them the joy for people and life that their “Big Mummy” possessed.
Mummy was one of the most unique and remarkable individuals that I ever met. I never once heard her complain or speak badly of others. She was selfless, donating her time and money to the college, church, and hospital. I am very thankful for the time I got to spend with her over the past eleven years. Some of that time was spent alone in a car with her riding back from different family functions while I was in college. She always volunteered for the dubious honor of making the 50 minutes one way drive to Due West to get me back to school. Though not the best driver (Anna notes that she always drove 50 mph whether on the interstate or school zone) these trips were a very enjoyable time for me. When I say she was remarkable, it was an understatement. She told me stories about being in England during WWII, bombs landing nearby. One of the stories included a military officer illegally giving her some military only gasoline because the store station was out and that she fretted the whole trip home that she would be arrested. We discussed the times at Erskine during integration and civil rights. She told me about the time her husband gave a young student a ride to the interstate so he could hitchhike home after being expelled for visiting the female dorm after hours. I never met her husband Joe, but she loved him dearly and spoke very fondly of him (except for his dancing.) After college I found myself visiting her in Swansgate to help her with a computer problem (amazingly she readily sent emails) or to change an occasional light bulb. She would always give me $20 (added bonus,) but I gained a lot more.
Over the past few years Mummy’s health has been deteriorating. We will miss her dearly but know that she is comfortable. In the future, I hope to share these stories with our children, but more importantly I hope to impart on them the joy for people and life that their “Big Mummy” possessed.
With Baby Lucas, May 2007
With Anna, Christmas 2007
At the beach, June 2008
Discussing old photographs at Mummy's 90th birthday party, January 2009
With Brice, May 2010
2 comments:
What a beautiful post! Jeff, you are just great! I am SO THANKFUL that you are married to my best friend! You really, truly captured Mummy in a nutshell. What a special woman she was! I know her memory will live on forever not only in the Wightman clan, but in all of us! Love you guys!
So sweet Jeff! You have me in tears. Mummy was such a sweet, wonderful lady and I love all the things you said about her. We are thinking about y'all and keeping you all in our prayers. Love y'all.
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