Today’s blog is in remembrance of my grandmother, who passed away five years ago today after a short battle with pancreatic cancer. I got the call from my mother as I returned home from a weekend trip to Hersheypark with my cousins. Grandma’s spirits remained high despite her cancer diagnosis, as she still had her Easter dinner with all of us present. All was good the week before Mother’s Day. She suffered a bad fall at home and was taken to Excela Westmoreland before being transferred to St. Anne’s Home a week later. She spent two weeks in hospice care before her passing.
Some of my best memories of my grandmother included spending holidays with her. Gramma Gaffron may have had her endless Gaffron Christmases, but Grandma and Grandpap always gave us a good Christmas as well. Grandma always put together a nice spread during the holidays.
We had roast beef from C&S, sausage, candied dills 🥒 and black olives as well as potato salad. There was always a cheese ball and chicken crackers and even pizelles.
Grandma always liked the Norman Lear shows, especially All in the Family and the Jeffersons, as well as Maude and Good Times. I used to always joke that her house was a CBS house as the TV was usually on channel 2 (KDKA). Gramma Gaffron had Jeopardy, Grandma had Family Feud (going all the way back to the original days when Richard Dawson hosted).
When I was little and my mom worked evenings at Waldenbooks, I spent a lot of evenings at Grandma and Grandpap’s. Sometimes we’d go out to eat at McDonald’s, Burger King, or Long John Silvers. Afterwards, they took me to Hills and I got a toy. Sometimes we went to Ames or Murphy’s Mart. Grandma always loved going to the old Greengate Mall and her and my Great Grandmother always had lunch in the cafeteria at G.C. Murphy’s. After her mall trips, she sometimes bought a Chick-Fil-A sandwich for me.
I remember having Thanksgiving at their house once or twice. Once was the year between going to Florida and the start of having it at Aunt Sue’s. We had lunch with Gram and then went there for dinner. It was a nice turnout and I remember us gathering in the living room to watch the Cowboys on FOX. It was rare to have Thanksgiving there which made it a treat. It was the first time in a few years they weren’t spending it in Florida, either.
We had a luncheon at Denunzio’s following her funeral. Like the many times we ate at the Olive Garden for Great Grandma’s birthday, it felt special and a nice way to remember Grandma. I wasn’t sure what the future would hold for me or where I would be living. Eventually Katie and I switched living spaces and she’d live there for a few years before moving into her own house.
Stylish 🍒 