The Blossoms: April 2008

This past week, my great-grandmother who for 33 years I've known as "Grandmother Young" died at the age of 98.

What a blessing she was to all of us who knew her. She was amazing in every way. She loved her Savior above all else - her yard, to this very day a testimony to how much she enjoyed growing flowers in His earth.
She loved her family, and even over the past several years when age had stricken her blind, her eyes would light up as you leaned in for a hug and whispered your name to her. She would always tell me - "I can't believe how tall you're getting." (I've been the same height now for 16 years, but I always told her I couldn't believe it either).
She loved to work with her hands - I still have several quilts she made for me from the time I was in junior high until I finished college. She made the most unbelievable biscuits you've ever put in your mouth - of course, always from scratch and made in the same mixing bowl now for decades. My mom and dad live across the street from her home (where she lived alone, between the homes of two of her daughters, until she died) and tell the story of her "favorite pasttime" - coming over when the weather was not too hot or cold and collecting pecans from the trees in my parents grove. Now, the best part of this story is that this was a >95 year old woman who was blind and loved to get down on her hands and knees and feel around on the ground for pecans - and would do this until her 5-gallon bucket was as full as the person's under the next tree.

But my most vivid memory of her over the past few years - I had gotten to come home for Thanksgiving and was driving up to my parents' house when I noticed Grandmother Young raking her own yard, bagging the leaves, and carrying them out to the end of her driveway. That is exactly how I'll remember her... always working to keep herself and everything around her beautiful, not for herself or even others, but for her Lord and Saviour.

Above are pictures from 2006 when we were all together for the holidays. The first picture is of Grandmother Young, my grandmother Latain Blossom, my father Bill Blossom, me and my son Bo. Remarkable...
The second picture is one I'll treasure forever as much for the image of a 95 year age difference as for the fact that right after this picture was taken, Grandmother Young looked at Bo and said, "I can't believe how tall you're getting". Bo's response: "Thanks."

As my great-grandmother is now celebrating in heaven with her Saviour for eternity, I can't believe how short I feel compared to how tall she lived.

Below is her obituary from the paper.


Nelia Irene Young, 98, died Tuesday, April 8, 2008, at Lackey Memorial Hospital in Forest, MS. Services will be held Thursday, April 10 at 11:00 a.m. at Ott & Lee Funeral Home Chapel in Forest with burial to follow in the Harperville Cemetery. Visitation is 5:00 until 9:00 p.m. today at the Funeral home. Mrs. Young was a former resident of Morton and moved to Forest in 2000. She retired from B.C. Rogers Poultry Company and began her second career at Mississippi Care Center in Morton where she worked in food service until the age of 87. She was an avid gardener, growing beautiful flowers and vegetables and in past years enjoyed making quilts for family and friends. She was a woman of tremendous faith and was devoted to her Lord and her family. Mrs. Young was the oldest member of First Baptist Church of Morton. She was preceded in death by her parents, Walton and Leathy Harkey; husbands, Dale Calhoun and Spurgeon Young; daughter, Irene Townsend; sisters, Lona Whatley, Gwendolyn Wade, and Mollie Dee Barfield; and brother, Miller Harkey. Family she leaves behind will forever cherish her love and sweet memories. Survivors include daughters, Latain Blossom and husband, Charles of Forest, Ruby Hamilton of Forest, Sherrie Johnson and husband, Fred of Morton, and Lucy Young of Vicksburg; son, Dub Young and wife, Liz of Morton; sister, Lillie Austin of Philadelphia, MS; fifteen grandchildren, twenty-nine great grandchildren and fourteen great-great grandchildren; and numerous nieces, nephews, other family and friends. Pallbearers will be grandsons, Sammy Blossom, Bill Blossom, Ben Kitchens, Scott Young, Adam Young and Thomas Crapps.