Goodbye Grandma Ria

 On the evening of April 11th we received a very late phone call.  And if it wasn't for Keira, who cried in her sleep, waking me up 5 mins before hand, I'm not sure we would have heard it.  But thankfully I was awake and noticed that Larry's phone was vibrating on his night stand next to our bed.  At first I didn't think anything of it, but after a 2nd phone call came through a few minutes later I gave Larry a swift kick to wake him up.

It was his brother Doug.  Candace had come home that evening to find her mom had passed away after her final heart attack.  Grandma Maria had endured many painful surgeries, tests, ambulance rides, diagnosis, and even the brutal honesty that her previous surgery 3 months before was not done correctly and there was nothing the surgeons could do to help her.  At that point, she was on borrowed time.


She seemed to be doing well with these new doctors.  Many other problems had been solved and she had planned on going home to see Grandpa Bruce to make arrangements to move closer to a large city with trained doctors.  Something that would be good for both of them.

But unfortunately those plans were foiled and Grandma Maria went home to our Father in Heaven.  She had expressed many times that she was weakened by her ailments, and couldn't hold on for much longer.  Her short 53 years on this earth had taken a toll on her.  She was worn down.  Now she has peace, a healthy body that no longer slows her down and many past relatives to visit with.  This is how I picture her.


We are all deeply sadden by these turn of events.  It will be strange to not receive the Christmas holiday box filled of goodies she has scoured her little town for special presents for the grandkids, or letters for the grandkids with $1 bills adding up to their age for their birthday, or to hear her usual request for detailed information on the growth and news of each of the grandkids and desire for a stack of pictures to be mailed for documentation and grandparent bragging!!

Least to say, she will be missed.  I wish I knew more stories of her ingenuity, warmth and kindness to share with my young children.  However what I can tell them are her love for her pugs, her keen eye that could spot a garage sale a mile away, her taste for good home cooked Mexican food, her wealth of knowledge of children songs that she sang in English and Spanish, her unwaivering testimony of Christ and her desire to keep those families ties double-knotted and tied tight.  I'm sure I'll never do her justice, but I will always remind them of how much she loved them.

Rest In Peace, Maria Lucille Garrison Ogburn
(October 16, 1957 - April 11, 2011)