Grandma Eaton has passed away. Late Friday, April 1st she experienced a heart attack while in her nursing home. She complained of "not feeling well" and never recovered. We're not sure of all details at this point, but we do know she is gone. Grandma had been going through the stages of Alzheimer's for a number of years, and has not been "herself" for about five of those years. She knew everyone still, and had a great long-term memory. Yet, she stopped interacting, stopped reading or wanting to be social with her friends. She taught us a lot through the years and had a very rich life. We will miss her a great deal. Granda had so much wit and humor, this will be a celebration of her long life. Having never experienced a death in my family before....this is all new to me. My family has made arrangements to fly out to Arizona Tuesday-Thursday of this coming week to be with my grandpa and our families. My grandpa is a strong person, and I believe this will allow him to be more independent, and flourish socially. He has spent so much time caring for her, and making sure everything was okay. Although it's hard for him, I know he will be okay. He's so youthful still, he has many years left to be a part of our lives. Rest in peace grandma......Love "ermantrude"
The sun always shines here :) It was great to see LIFE again....even after death. Flowers blooming, birds chirping, and sunny skies welcomed us to Sierra Vista. 
A large yellow rose bush grows on the side of my Grandpa's condo..it's gorgeous! 
One job we were given was to clean out Gma's closets....she had SO much stuff. We didn't want my grandpa to have to go through her things so we cleaned them all out, completely. Including her mink furs. We had a little fun with them and played dress-up :) 
Grandpa's back patio was so sunny and cute. We spent some time back here chatting each night. 
My grandparents were married 61 years :) 
I caught the sunset right before it went behind the mountains. 
My dad and Uncle Bob strung lights up in the patio so we could enjoy each other's company once it got dark! 
My boss and his wife sent beautiful purple flowers to my Grandma's memorial serive :) They had no idea her favorite color was purple....so awesome. 
My in-laws sent this gorgeous sunny arragement! It was so comforting to see all these flowers from the people I love. 
During the memorial...the skies were gloomy and the winds really whipped. As soon as we got home to clean out the rest of Grandma's things, the skies parted and the sun shone. I think Grandma had something to do with this drastic change in weather :) 
Grandpa and his girls :) 
Grandpa and his girls open all the cards he received from loved ones. 
My mom's cousins, Susan and Carolyn show Grandpa some fun memories. 
It's not often we are ALL together like this....so it was great to catch up with everyones lives. Here, Auntie Cyn chats with cousin Carolyn who flew to AZ all the way from Hawaii. 
This is a fitting end to this blog. My grandpa is often caught in moments just like this. Concentrating, reading, at peace.....he reads a sympathy card. The amount of love he felt on this day was amazing. We were all there for him, and so many people loved my Grandma....just as we did. She is in a better place, and we all celebrate her long life of 84 years. 
