Here is what I shared during the funeral service:

It’s hard to say goodbye but I am so glad for all the memories I have with my grandmother.I feel privileged to have been close to my Grandmother my entire life. She was a kind, loving and generous grandma. She taught me a lot.

She taught me to love Jesus. As a little girl I remember my sister and I spending the weekends with her and going to church. She taught us to give an offering, read our Bible and encouraged us to memorize Bible verses. She taught us to pray before meals, at bedtime and any time we needed help. I will never forget the times she yelled at or kicked Satan out of the room. Literally.

She taught me to be kind and think of others. If someone needed help and she saw them, she would help. When I was little I would be embarrassed when she would me make me help a perfect stranger. Today I am grateful for this and hope that I will teach my children the same. She always wanted me to set an example for my younger sisters. I guess that’s what comes with being the oldest but she never let me forget it.

She taught me manners. When she said “thank you” she liked to hear “you’re welcome”. If you didn’t say it, she would remind you. She also expected things to be done right – she didn’t allow shortcuts while completing a task. I did not enjoy helping her change the sheets on her bed. Everything had to be perfect – sheets needed to be flat, straight and tight. I was always relieved when my sister Christene helped her with that.

She taught me to cook and maybe even love food. She taught me how to make mince meat, rouladen, gravy, stuffing, shortbread, bread pudding and apple pie with the crust from scratch. I enjoyed cooking for her. She especially loved desserts. It was fun to watch her reaction when we placed a dessert in front of her. After eating dinner, even when she was full, if she did not see or know what dessert was, she would quickly ask “what’s for dessert?”

She taught me to ‘waste not, want not’. She was resourceful and organized. In her drawers she had things tied up with twist ties, rubber bands or string. She labeled things if they weren’t in their original container. She kept pieces of scrap paper instead of throwing them away and always found a use for something.

She taught me how to study and be a good student. She always tried to keep her mind sharp. She liked to read, do puzzles and play word games. I remember her helping me prepare to be in a spelling bee in elementary school. I spent days, maybe even weeks, under her instruction, writing words over and over and pacing back and forth in the hall while spelling the words out loud. I think she wanted me to be in it more than I did. I gave it a good try. I hope.

She knew how to make people laugh and it was fun to spend time with her. I will miss her sense of humor. One thing I will truly miss is her prayers. She prayed for my family daily. She prayed for things she knew were happing but she also prayed for the future. She would ask me “Did Joey get that raise yet? I’ve been praying that he will get one”. When she prayed, she trusted God to answer her prayers and she never ceased praying. She not only prayed for my family but for extended family, friends and perfect strangers. When she received the Prayer Watch newsletter from the church she would go down the list and start her prayers and write her cards. She was a true Prayer Warrior and blessed many people.

It was also important to her that everyone know the Lord as their savior. She prayed for many people to come to the Lord. She shared tracts and Bible verses with everyone. She also loved Billy Graham and his ministry. She used to tell people she wanted to fly to heaven with Billy Graham. So, when she was on her death bed we all kept checking the news about Billy Graham. As far as I know, he is still alive but I’m sure she’s waiting for him to come next.

I would like to thank all of you that blessed my grandmother. As much as she enjoyed sending cards, I think she enjoyed receiving them just as much. She also enjoyed visiting with you on the phone and in person. I am also grateful for my mom and sister Kathlene for all the care they provided her.

I am truly going to miss her but will not forget her!

Here is a copy of her obituary:

Georgine Lingner Aitken

1924 – 2010

Our beloved mother, cherished grandmother and friend has gone into the loving arms of her Lord and Savior at her daughter’s home in West Jordan on February 17, 2010.

She was born February 11, 1924, to Louis and Maria Lingner in Brooklyn, New York. She graduated from Brooklyn Hospital School of Nursing in 1945. She then lovingly cared for her sister Marie’s children before marrying the love of her life John on June 16, 1951.

Her greatest joy was caring for others and spending time with family and friends. She enjoyed Bible studies, church activities and cooking. She especially enjoyed eating desserts. She was a member of Southeast Baptist Church for 23 years. She was a true prayer warrior—praying for and sending cards and letters of encouragement daily to family, friends and church members. We will remember her sense of humor, positive attitude and her love of Jesus. She taught us to laugh and to love. She will be missed tremendously by all who knew her.

Georgine is preceded in death by her husband John in 1976, sisters Marie, Louise and Jeanette and brother George. She is survived by her sister Helen, daughter Janet (Gene) Olschewski and son Tom (Gina). She is also survived by many loved nieces and nephews and her grandchildren Janene (Joey) Day, Christene and Kathlene Olschewski and John and Brooke Aitken. She was anticipating the birth of her first great-grandchild in July (Janene and Joey Day).

A service celebrating her life will be held Monday, February 22, at 11:00 a.m. at Southeast Baptist Church, 7000 S 1700 E, Salt Lake City. Family and friends may call Sunday, February 21, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Southeast Baptist Church and prior to the services from 10:00 to 10:45 a.m. Interment will be at Larkin Cemetery. Friends and family are invited to view the guest book and share memories of Georgine at www.serenicare.com

Georgine’s daughter Janet and granddaughter Kathlene had the privilege of caring for Georgine for the past 10 months. A special thanks to the staff of Hospice for Utah – especially to Joan, Lyn and Erica for their loving care and support to the end

We all got together for dinner and she wasn’t doing very well. She had trouble eating and having conversations with us.

Friday morning she wasn’t able to get out of bed. She was having trouble waking up and responding to us. Hospice came and showed my family how to take care of her toileting needs while laying in the hospital bed. Joey and I went to visit her Friday night and we sat in her room with my family for an hour before she even opened her eyes. When she woke up she said “I haven’t done anything all day”. She then kept telling us she wanted to go home. Some of us where in tears as we told her it was okay to go home. After a few minutes she kept telling Joey to take me home. Joey and I said what was probably our last goodbye and went home.

Saturday my grandmother’s hospice nurse came and told my mom that my grandmother may have had a stroke and a pulmonary embolism. Here is a picture from Saturday:

Saturday she didn’t talk much and she would have her eyes open but she wasn’t really looking at anybody. I sat with my Grandmother for 2 hours on Saturday to give my mom a break. I just held her hand and prayed.

Sunday, Valentine’s Day, Joey and I went to see how she was doing after we went out to lunch. She was quiet and Joey sat in her room for a couple of hours while I helped my mom. Around dinner time she was moving a lot and she opened her eyes and she was not herself. We wanted to give her some medicine and she refused. She held her lips together and she starting hitting us when we tried to put her hands down. Once we got the medicine in her mouth she looked like she was going to spit it out, which she did. A little bit later, Kathlene wanted to help her with her oxygen and she wouldn’t let her so my mom and I held her arms down and then she starting spitting at us. She even looked right at my mom and said “I spit in your face!”. She was pushing us away from her bed. Man she is strong!

My mom called Hospice and they said they could bring injectable medication to calm her down. They came and gave her the medication and had to fight her on that too. They saw her bladder was full and had to catheterize her. Christene and my mom held her down while the nurse did what she needed to do.

We don’t know what is going to happen but we are praying that the Lord calls her home soon. This is all very hard for us to watch and wait for the end. However, the hospice people are such a blessing and definitely help make this a little bit easier for us all.

Last night I made this Family Hamburger Soup I found in a Pillsbury recipe book I have and it was delicious.

Ingredients:

1 lb lean ground beef (I used ground turkey)

1/4 cup chopped onion

2 cups diced, peeled potatoes

1 cup sliced celery

1 bag (12 oz) frozen mixed vegetables (I used a mixture of fresh and frozen)

3 cups water

2 (10 1/2 oz) cans condensed beef broth

1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, cook ground beef and onion over medium-high heat until beef is thoroughly cooked, stirring frequently. Drain.

2. Add the remaining ingredients; mix well. Bring to a boil. Reduce head to low; cover and simmer 18 to 20 mintues or until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally.

For dessert I made Vanilla Cupcakes from my Cook Yourself Thin cookbook. They were delicious too. I think Joey at 4 of them already. Good thing they are low fat

Dinner was a lot of fun and expensive BUT amazingly delicious. Cucina Toscana is considered one of Salt Lake’s finest restaurants and has received numerous awards. If you are looking for the best Italian food in Salt Lake, this is the place to go. I look forward to going there again.

We have spent every anniversary so far at Anniversary Inn. It’s a nice bed and breakfast with themed rooms. Our stay this time wasn’t the best (the room was cold and our upstairs neighbors played FM 100 blaring loud for 3 hours in the middle of the night) but we still had fun.

Joey spoiled me this year with anniversary gifts. He bought me two cookbooks from America’s Test Kitchen:

and a Garmin Nuvi 1200:

What a happy surprise. Thanks honey!

2000

June – Graduated from High School

August – Started college and joined the marching band

2001

June – Started dating Joey

October – Got my fingers stuck in the dough roller at 5 Buck Pizza. The nice ER doctor sewed them back on and they are good as new

2003

December 25th – Got engaged

2005

January 1st – Got married

May – Got my Bachelor of Science

2006

December – Joey totaled his car. We are now a one car family.

2007

May – Got my Master of Science

October 31st – Found kitten in the parking lot of a paint store. Ended up keeping her. We named her Pumpkin.

2008

August – Someone was looking for a home for a kitten. We decided to bring her home. We named her Coconut.

October – Bought town home

2009

March – Joey bought a used car. We are now a two car family again. Yay!

April – Went on a Baja Mexico cruise.

November – Found out I was pregnant! (We saw the doctor this week and he says the baby is active and measuring just right. Our expected due date is July 21st.)

I am excited to see what 2010 brings! I hope you all have a great new year.