Grandma Hatch

I LOVE this photo. My grandpa was/still is a stellar photographer and he took this on their wedding night. 

A few weeks ago I attended my grandmother's funeral. The service was really moving-- a spiritual experience for me. . . especially hearing my father (her son) speak. I wanted to record just a few things about Verena Ursenbach Hatch.

My Grandma Hatch was a musician. She loved music-- especially the hymns. Their house (they moved just this past year) had an entire room dedicated solely to music-- compete with a pipe organ and a grand piano. She also was proud of her Canadian heritage. She had a very practical home and it was always clean. I remember her insisting that I wash my hands often-- something my mom never really insisted on when I was a child-- and it used to really bug me. We fed the ducks, I dressed out of her costume box and loved her banana chocolate chip squares. 

My grandparents lived just a few blocks from BYU campus and while I was in school, I would frequently visit. I think everyone I dated came to their house and would get a little "interview" from them both. While Brian and I were engaged, I moved into their home for two months before we tied the knot. It was kind of amazing that they did this for me considering my grandma was in the middle of chemo for breast cancer. I was surprised by their kindness-- they knew I had weight-lifting class on tues/thurs and made sure to include a hard boiled egg on those days for extra protein. Grandma loved to show me the booties she was crocheting and a book that she was working on later in life. I would sit by her and she would show me her latest project on her 32inch Mac computer. She would offer me bags of dried apricots from her food storage. And most of all, she gave me comfort during a very, very difficult time for me. I'll miss her, but know one day we'll be together again.