In Loving Memory

On September 5, 2008, my Grandmother Dorothy Faye Long Johnson passed away in Spanish Fork Utah. I was fortunate to be able to briefly speak with her on the phone a few hours before she passed. She was amazingly alert and lucid and wanted no pity for her situation. She told me over and over that she loved me, that she was proud of me and told me to just keep movin' and raisin "those babies". She told me that she was sorry my life was hard (it's not , especially compared with what she has gone through) and that she would see me... eventually. She was a good strong woman who knew the meaning of service. She never knew what it was like to be lazy, and was the hardest worker I have ever known. She passed this on to her kids and grandkids; when we were little I would almost groan when I knew she was coming. It always meant "oh and dear, one more thing." She loved her family and it was always hard on her when we couldn't all be together. Her son Wesley died a few years ago and I think that when he left us, a little bit of Granny J did as well. I knew she was really not well this year when I didn't receive my birthday card and phone call. In 31 years, she had never missed one until this year.
One of the hardest parts about her farewell was that she wasn't there telling everyone what to do, how to cook the food and who to invite. She would have fussed forever about the little things making sure that everything was just right.
Perhaps the very hardest part of saying good bye was walking into her home, even though it was 1 am when I got there, and not seeing her in her green rocking chair with her feet propped up, a little "somethin'" in her glass and Walker Texas Ranger on T.V. It was just empty and hollow and hard to feel in the right place.
I will miss her, probably more so on the Holidays than other times. She always had a way of making us feel special. He laughter was contagious, maybe even a little obnoxious, be she is what defined my family. I will remember her well and speak of her often.
I read a quote recently that seems appropriate for my grandmother and the women in my family ," if you want to understand any woman, you must first ask about her mother and then listen carefully. Stories of food show a strong connection. Wistful silences demonstrate unfinished business. The more a daughter knows the details of a mothers life- without flinching or whining- The stronger the daughter. "

Her marriage to Leonard Dean Johnson July 18, 1942

This was the last time some of her Great Grand kids saw her before she passed away .