Finally Updating

Well, so far February has been a pretty rough month for our family. First, James' grandma passed away and so he went to California with his family for the funeral. On the day of that funeral I found out that my grandma had died too.


Four Generations- I'm SO glad I got this picture


Both of our grandmas were in their mid 90's, and both of them had poor health and limited cognitive abilities. Both of them were the last person in their family to pass away. So while it is always sad when someone dies, we are happy that they have been freed from their failing bodies and that they have been reunited with their husbands and families.

I will always miss my grandma. After my parents got divorced, she and my grandpa really stepped in and helped to raise me. I spent every weekend with them while I was in the 2nd and 3rd grades. Their home was a stable and loving environment where I was always the center of attention. When my grandma would greet me she would take my face in her hands, look down at me and exclaim, "What a treasure! What a beautiful child!" Every kid should have grandparents like that. My grandparents interceded in my life at a crucial time, and I know that I am the person that I am because of them.

This month has been an emotionally draining one, full of last minute get-togethers with family from all over the country. All of our grandparents are gone now, and we're ready to be finished with funerals for a while. Seriously, I feel like I'm on a first name basis with the people at Larkin Mortuary. I don't want to go back there for a long time.

For now it's back to the grind. Maybe I'll try (again) to potty train the boy...







Velma D. Miller 1913 ~ 2009 Velma D. Miller, age 95, passed away on February 5, 2009, from natural causes. Velma was born October 16, 1913, in Ruth, Nevada, the daughter of Joseph Reid Davidson and Lillie Dell Chapman Davidson. On August 6, 1936, she married Gordon J. Miller in the Salt Lake Temple. They are the parents of four children, 10 grandchildren, and 16 great-grandchildren. After more than 71 years of marriage, Gordon passed away in October of 2007. Velma attended schools in Salt Lake City. She started her first job at age 15 and was employed throughout the Great Depression, rising to the position of head cashier in Woolworth's main Salt Lake office. When she and Gordon moved to Berkeley, California as he began his graduate studies, she was employed as a cashier at the San Francisco Exposition - one of her favorite jobs. When her first child was born, she stayed home to rear her family. She had a lifelong love of learning, the arts, and culture that she instilled in her children. Her home was filled with beautiful music, books, art objects, and plants. She was a gracious hostess and refined lady. She loved to travel, both to far away places and to her summer retreats in the Tetons and in Manila, Utah, where she reveled in the beauties of nature. Velma was a highly-principled woman who valued honesty, generosity, fairness, and unpretentiousness. She and her husband performed many acts of quiet service to those in need. She supported her children in their church activities and encouraged them to do their best. She also served in several positions in the LDS Church, and she particularly enjoyed working with young people. Velma loved her children, and she was a wonderful, caring grandmother. She was thrilled at the arrival of great-grandchildren, often commenting that she never expected to live long enough to see them. Velma is survived by her children Stephen G. Miller (Karen), Marilyn M. Foster, and Richard C. Miller (Jenae), and her brother R. Reid Davidson. She was preceded in death by her parents, husband, son Norman J. Miller, son-in-law Robert D. Foster, and a great-grandson. Funeral services will be held Saturday, February 14, at 12:00 p.m. at Larkin Mortuary, 260 East South Temple, Salt Lake City. Viewings will be held at the mortuary on Friday evening from 6-8 p.m. and Saturday from 11:00-11:45 a.m.