Happy Birthday, Miss Tippy Toe!

Almost a month ago to the day, I shared a tribute to my grandfather on his birthday. Today I will share memories about his wife, my grandmother, on her birthday. If she were alive today she would be celebrating her 99th. She passed away two short years ago on June 1, 2008, just shy of her 97th birthday. She lived a long, full life, and all of her family, at one time or another was the recipient of her generosity. When she passed away she left a legacy of 2 children, 4 grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren and 5 great-great grandchildren, all of whom called her lovingly “Gram.”
Gram was a small little woman. She stood just under 5 feet. I remember being able to pick her up off the ground when I was about 14, something she always scolded me about to “put me down!” but I knew secretly she thought it was funny. She had the best selection of shoes because her foot was a dainty
6 1/2AAA. I can remember when I was little that once a year she would make this pilgrimage to a destination in Lynchburg to buy shoes. She always got the best shoes at the best price because she got the sample shoe. I remember playing dress up in her scores of high heels. Because of those high heels, she also had the best legs. I was envious of her legs when she was 80. I used to tell her, “You got great gams, Gram.” She was always dressed to the nines. As much as my grandfather dressed comfortably, she was the other extreme. She always looked impeccable. She loved hats, something I share with her. She had more hats than I can remember. It became my gift of choice for her on every occasion. She always carried a bag and sometimes 2 or 3. She was famous for having tissues in her pockets, and if we went out to eat, she never asked for a take-out container, she just wrapped the food in a napkin and put it in her purse.
As a child, I remember her making sure we had a quarter to put in the offering basket in Sunday school and threatening to get the “yardstick” if we misbehaved (something I never saw materialize) Being a young person in the Depression era, she was always frugal. There used to be a fast food place that we frequented when I was a child called “Burger Chef.” They had a sandwich called the “Superchef,” much like the whoppers of today, but bigger. My grandfather, grandmother, my sister, Jenna and I would go to Burger Chef. Gram would order one “Superchef,” and then once we got to the booth, she would take a steak knife out of her purse and cut the sandwich into 4 sections. No wonder she always carried more than one bag.
Gram was always very involved in church. She was a member of the UMW, United Methodist Women, Choir and Prayer group in her later years. UMW has different meeting groups called circles. The circles met in different homes for each month’s meeting. Gram always had the December circle which meant we got to put all the Christmas decorations up early. I remember looking forward to that every year and getting to come in to the meeting for the “Story Lady” My sister and I always spent the weekends with her and my grandfather, and when we got up we would go get in the bed with her where she would be reading her paper and then Grampy would bring all 3 of us breakfast in bed. During the holidays the Newspaper would run a serial holiday story. Gram would always read it to us either at those breakfasts in bed or at dinner. She and Grampy always took us to see the real Santa Claus every year at Miller & Rhoads, and we never missed a Christmas or Tobacco Parade. I was scared of clowns as a child, so I was usually on Gram’s lap under an afghan seated in a lawn chair on Broad Street to watch the festivities. She was definitely a “lap” Grandma, and I can remember countless times sitting on her lap in the Family Room while she rocked me until I was almost taller than she was.
As I grew older I watched her with different eyes. I saw her dedication and work ethic. She NEVER missed church or choir practice, and when her company decided to downsize and eliminate her position here in the Richmond office, she was looking through the “HELP WANTED” ads at 80 years old, not because she needed to work, but because she wanted to work. Even though she worked into her retirement years, she stayed frugal. She was a pioneer in the recycling movement as she always saved wrapping paper. She would open a gift with surgeon’s precision and then I would see the same wrapping paper months later on another gift she was giving. I always thought of her as quiet, yet she was always the one to give the devotional at choir, and she was actually quite a good public speaker. She would pray from the heart after every devotional, and each prayer would always begin, “Heavenly Father.” She read constantly and when electric typewriters came out, she chose to still use her manual, and she could still type 90 WPM. She loved my children greatly, and I am so glad they knew her. They had tea parties with her and played with her stuffed animals that she kept in her room.
I also got to see the wonderful relationship between her and my grandfather. They were together and devoted to each other for 50 years. She was devastated when he left her in the spring of 1983, and lived another 25 years without him. I know it was a happy day in heaven when “Fancy Pants” and “Miss Tippy Toe” reunited. So…Happy Birthday, Miss Tippy Toe! Have a Sloe Gin Fizz on me.