My Grandma Mason

Marcia Allen Mason 1938 ~ 2010

In the past 5 months I have attended 3 funerals in my family and I never imagined my Grandma Mason would be one of them. It seems just last week we were talking and laughing together. Then, Sunday morning our home phone rang and it was my Grandma's Relief Society President saying she had a stroke and was in route to the University of Utah Hospital. Panicked, I ran over to the church to pull my parents out of sacrament meeting and we headed up. I offered a prayer on the 40 minute drive to the hospital. I asked my Father in Heaven to bring us peace and comfort. I also pleaded with him that we could witness a miracle that day. I also asked him to comfort grandma as well and to let thy will be done.

We got there and the news wasn't good. Though my grandma was responding and talking, she had no use of the right side of her body. They were running CT scans and MRI's to know the full extent, but they did know that it was serious. I spent all day Sunday in the hospital waiting room with my family and later that evening they had to take her into emergency surgery to remove half of her skull. This was because her brain was swelling so much, they needed to give it room so that it didn't do further damage. Before she went into surgery, I went in to see my grandma. I walked up to her, held her hand, and said "I love you grandma". Without having to open her eyes she responded, "I love you too, Sarah". The doctors said that had she been right handed, she wouldn't have been able to talk. This was the miracle I witnessed that day. The miracle was that I had the chance to talk to my grandma and tell her I loved her and to hear it back before she left this Earth. Miracles do happen, they may happen in a different way then we may expect, but Heavenly Father knows what needs to be done. He has a plan and though we may not understand, everything happens for a purpose. My Grandma had other work to do that was required of her on the other side of the veil. I am grateful for the knowledge I have to know that I will see her again, as well as my Grandpa and cousin, Brianna, who have also passed recently.

God be with her 'til we meet again...

I loved my grandma unconditionally and I was honored to have the opportunity to speak at her funeral in representation of the grandchildren. She was so full of life and adventure. She was always smiling and her laugh was so contagious.

Some Things about my Grandma:

* Hobbies: Genealogy & Temple Work, scrapbooking, knitting, shopping, anything new and adventurous, & her family

*She served a mission with her husband in the Cochabamba Bolivian Temple.

* Grandmother of 12 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren & she loved every single one of us beyond words.

* Hated the heat. She would rarely visit us in Texas during the summer bc she would always be drenched in sweat when outside and would say "I am Melting!"

* She spent hours every morning getting ready, hair perfectly curled, nails always done, make-up on her face, and coordinating jewelry to go along her clothes.

* She hated getting her picture taken bc she always complained that in the end result her mouth was open or her eyes were closed.

* Never missed family reunions and had a deep love for genealogy. In fact I had always said I was going to have her teach me so that I could continue after she passed. That time has come and gone. So now Tiffany and I are going to do our very best to move forward with it & make her proud :)

* She was always willing to serve with a smile on her face. She was constantly opening her home to people who needed a place to stay.

* She loved to brag about her grandchildren. Often I would go to her house and she would have company - people I didn't know, but they typically knew me...

* She used to call me, just to chat and to see how things were going. She always wanted to know how my school work was coming along, how gymnastics was going, and she especially wanted to hear how my latest date went. She wanted all the details and wanted to know everything about this boy. She was probably making sure he was worthy enough to date and possibly, marry her granddaughter in the future. I look forward to that day when I will someday get married in the temple, though I always pictured my grandma being right there with me, excited I had finally found my eternal companion. I guess she will be there in a different way then I expected, through spirit.

* There was always dessert followed by dinner. And she had a treat drawer next to the stove that she kept filled with mini candy bars and mentos. She even spoiled my dog, Rex, with treats. Every time she came over she would walk through the door with a handful of biscuits and he loved her for it. I don't know if she did it to quiet his barking or because it was simply the grandma thing to do?

My Blessing day

I love this picture of my grandma; its a perfect profile . . .

My grandparents on their mission in Bolivia. They loved it!

She was always there to support me in everything!

She did love her grandchildren!

My gift last Christmas, she took me to the nutcracker. I felt like a little girl again going to the ballet with my grandma. What a wonderful time we had to bond even more...

I will miss my grandma dearly but I know that she is in a good place, getting work done on the other side. I felt her present yesterday as a I spoke, expressing my love for her and letting everyone know what a wonderful grandmother she was. Then her "sister-cousin", Linda, gave a beautiful talk as well. The music we heard was gorgeous and then...Elder Dallin H. Oaks, Quorum of the 12 Apostles, spoke. He was very close to my grandma as a first cousin (making him my second cousin) and what a wonderful job he did. He made us laugh and he made us cry. He told me I did a beautiful job afterwards. I was so nervous to begin with, speaking with him right there behind me, but I was so calm through the whole talk and when I talked to him afterwards, he simply felt like family. The spirit was so strong and I think my grandma was very proud and touched by the wonderful tributes that were made to her.