They welcomed two daughters into their lives. Ruth Naomi and Thelma Marie.
Ruth married Arthur Bowles and they had eight sons. Thelma married Roscoe Birdsell and they had one daughter and two sons.
One of Thelma and Roscoe's sons was my dad.
While others look at the picture and see Ruth, George, Addie and Thelma, I see Aunt Ruth, Great Grandpa George, Great Grandma Addie and Grandma Thelma.
George passed before I was born. Addie passed when I was about 11 months old. Thelma passed when my father was four.
I saw Great Grandma Addie and Aunt Ruth. I do not remember Great Grandma Addie. I do remember Aunt Ruth.
Robert E. Jacobs (the picture on the floor) was Addie's father. The picture behind George is of Mary Ann Stevens Jacobs, Addie's mother. I don't know who is in the picture above Aunt Ruth. I don't know what happened to that picture either.
But this picture is of my Larison family. The part of my Larison family that I knew the most about until Thursday when I made my trip to LeRoy, Kansas to learn about George's family.
George was 69 years old and Addie was 56 years old when they sold out in Grant County, Kansas and moved back to Jewell County, Kansas to help raise their three motherless grandchildren.
I hope they knew how much those three children loved them. Even today, as the last one is still living, what George and Addie did for them is evident.
After they'd helped raise their grandchildren, my aunt made sure they had a comfortable home for the rest of their lives. I'm sure she felt an obligation toward them, but that gesture on her part was done out of pure love for them. They weren't only her grandparents, they were her second set of parents.
During the final illness of my dad's life he was adamant about making sure the world knew how much he appreciated everything George and Addie did for him after his mother died. The only thing he stated that he wanted in his obituary was how they'd given up their retirement years to come raise them. It meant that much to him.
Not long ago, I took a picture of an older George and Addie to show to my uncle. The magic transformation that happened was stunning. An 80something year old man lost decades from his face as he looked at that picture. His eyes brightened. I could see in his mind that he was a young man again. "Georgie Pordgey" is what he said.
And through this recent journey back through the Larison family, a question has been answered for me. One that no one could ever tell me. What was my grandma Thelma like? That answer is in her three children. She's raised them for a few short years, and then her parents raised them. To learn who Thelma was, all I have to do is remember her children.
Rest in peace my Larison family. We're here. There's a lot of us to carry on. Between Granddad and Grandma and Aunt Ruth and Uncle Arthur, we'll be around for many generations to come.
Beautifully written Jody. I got shivers when i read what your dad wanted in his obituary. Your dad was a Jewell,that is for certain.
ReplyDeleteTime for me to put away the laptop. I don't want the story to end too soon. Happy writing.