My grandfathers died before I was born, both served in WW2 and only one came home. My one grandmother was schizophrenic and my mother would not allow her around me, says a lot.

My Dad remarried when I was 5 and she had a big extended family with her grandmother "Grandma ___" and I remember being taken to her house, eating her delicious yeast rolls, taking her to K-mart to buy more yarn, she inspired me to learn to crochet. She was a nice old lady. Not really "mine" but she was nice to me and did not treat me like an outsider, the way my step grandmother did.

 

My grandmother's both died young, when my parents were 14 and 15, respectively. I only saw my maternal grandfather once, when I was a toddler. I was priviledged to know my paternal great grandmothers a bit. One died when I was three so I barely remember her..but I remember her outhouse clearly. The other one lived til I was 15, although the last three years, she was bedridden and suffered from some form of dementia.

 

Never met two of my grandparents, only met the other two once or twice.
I did have a great aunt, who lived with us until I was 12. She was born in 1866 and died in 1963. She was a school teacher and principal for 63 years.
We were very close. She was a great purveyor of oral history and told me stories of our family going back to before the Revolutionary War.

One of her dear friends (and mine) was older than she, having escaped slavery as a small boy. He lived beyond 100.
He never knew his exact age as there were no records of his birth.
He also was a great storyteller.

I am forever grateful for the privilege of knowing them both.

 

I knew my great grand parents on my moms side. My great grandfather was still goose hunting until he lost his legs to diabetes at 96 . He lasted to 100 My great grandmother was 95 when she died. They were both mentally with it until the day they died. They were both fun to be with as a kid but my great grandmother could get cranky sometimes.

 

I remember we kids were told not to go in the kitchen where my great grandmother (Dad's side) ruled the house. They figured we'd bother her. We may well have done that; she had her ways and was best left alone. Not so much on Mom's side. Great Granddad on that side always have time for us as did one of the Great Grandmothers.

We kind of stayed away from her kitchen because she made us work. She still used a big wood burning stove/oven and when we showed up she always made us bring in wood for it. Still she shared kitchen skills with us and told great and entertaining stories which held us fixed to our seats as did her husband. I only wish I had paid more attention to those older family members than I did. They had life experiences I never grew up with. All lost now.

 

I don't believe I ever met my Dad's mom but I may have when I was very young. But I grew up knowing one of the great grandmothers on that side of the family. I did know my Mom's mom but she passed when I was around five. But I did know both great grandmothers and one great grandfather on that side of the family. Sadly all of my grandparents have passed now and the great grandparents as well; not surprising as I'm 68 now. Likewise my Dad's family is gone except for us three kids. Dad passed also. Mom is still alive; she is 92 now. Reasonably good health but I see her slipping away also. But she mat surprise me; her family lives much longer than my Dad's side did.

 

I have a few memories of my great grandmother but they are only 'visuals', can't remember any dialog.

 

I knew my great grandmother on my moms side, went to her house a few times. Also knew all my grand parents. Miss them all very much

 

I knew both of my grandparents. The ones on moms side celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary! They both lived into their 90's. That grandfather came to the USA on his own when he was 14 from Wales. Both were sweet people.

 

My great grandparents on my mother's side (mother's mother and father) dies 3 years after I was born.
My great grandparents on my father's side (father's father and mother) died one and 3 years after I was born.
I have no memory of any of them.

 

I was lucky enough to have known a Great Uncle and Aunt but the great grandparents, sadly no. I know of them and what they did. I would love to be able to sit down with them and just listen to them talk about their lives and experiences.

 

I knew all four of my Grandparents and was fortunate to have them into adulthood. Their wisdom was priceless as I was getting out on my own and long after. Both Grandfathers died in their mid-80's and both Grandmothers lived to over 100. In fact, my remaining Grandma just died about a year ago at 105. She outlived two of her three children, including my Mom.

I met my Great-grandparents on Mom's side probably a few times since I'd been born but only I only have one clear memory of going to visit them. I must have been on the cusp of 3-4 years old judging by other memories I have of the time. They were PA Hillbillies who lived a good distance from us so we probably didn't see them often.
I remember their house, having kool-aid in their kitchen and getting to use the indoor toilet that had been put in for Great Grandma. Only GGM and certain guests got to use the toilet. Everybody else had to use the outhouse, which I also experienced on that visit. GGM's toilet was in the basement, not in a real bathroom but surrounded by a shower curtain.
On the walk around the property (guided by Great Grandad) I remember hogs and chickens, a big garden, a cornfield and lots of sunflowers swaying in the sunshine.
I remember kicking around in the big garden area and finding a spent 30-30 casing. I thought I'd found something akin to gold and was tickled to death when GGD said I could keep it. I still have it somewhere.

I remember both of their funerals. Probably because everybody was dressed up and somber and I wasn't allowed to go because "I wouldn't understand". My younger sister wasn't born yet and my older brother, sister and I had to stay home being babysat by the neighbor girl. She was kind of cute, though, so it wasn't too bad. But I think I did understand.

Great topic and thank you for prompting me to explore my memories. It's good to exercise that stuff now and then. Otherwise, we lose them in the clutter of the waves of new information that assault us every day.

Edit to add:
My Dad never met his Grandparents, therefore neither did I. That GGD was never spoken of by the family in my memory and I think his name was verboten. I learned as an adult that he was a bad drunk (we are a long line of those right up to present day) who disappeared into the streets of Philly in the 20's and was never heard from again. From my own research and that of a second cousin, there is no record of him again. I imagine he probably died unidentified in an alley somewhere and got buried in a potters field. Apparently, that GGM died shortly after he disappeared.


Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

 

I knew many of my great aunts and uncles on both sides. Just lost my last great aunt about 3 years ago. Some of them were just phenomenal people and I have lots of great memories of them.

 

My great grandparents and two of my grandparents died before I was born, a 3rd died when I was two. That's not surprising since they were all born in the 19th century.

 

we used to visit my mother maternal grandmother fairly regularly when i was young and old enough to remember. she was a cook at a WPA camp, she came from kansas in a horse drawn wagon. we would get to her place and sack out in the large livingroom/ kitchen that was 2/3 of the house, and wake up to her cooking breakfast. she had a small orchard and garden on approximately an acre, she canned. she said "oh my" ( various inflections) a lot. she lived to 101.

 

I met and knew my great great grandmother and still have vivid memories of her. My great grandmother was still driving and tearing up the roads in my teens passed a few years after that. I remember holidays as a kid when my grand mother and great grandmother were kitchen warriors for family meals of 30ish of us.

Then I was oblivious of the legacy and gifts we all had. I wish growing up I had been more involved a lot of missed opportunity of generational knowledge. I tell my kids these stories and remember them with fondness learned of living life's path to where we are now.

We used to do slide show film projections from those drum magazines, would go through a couple of dozen of them gathered shoulder to shoulder on couches chairs and pillows on the floor. Holiday photos, older and missing family and friends, B&W on the silver screen. As each photo would come up it usually had a story told by several different family members, names places and usually a funny story. Those memories are faded like dreams but still hold positive feelings.

After my grandmothers passing the slides and suitcases of hard copy photos were divided up. This also ended the large family gatherings as she was the matriarch that made it happen and held it together. We are all still close and stay in contact but have spread out.

Looking back I grew up in Willoughby

 

We've been away for a while, east side of PK Lake, and are about to go back. But I wanted to reply to this post as it is dear to my heart.

I knew all four grandparents very well. They all had a big part in raising me. I also was very close to one uncle in particular, Uncle B. When he passed in '08 it was as if I had lost my own parent, not an uncle. He treated us like his own kids when we first moved to Texas when I was little. Took us crabbing often as we were all practically dirt poor, even him, and crabbing was free and only cost some used twine and if you bought them, .29 cents for a pack of 6 chicken necks. One chicken neck per kid and you had better tie it on tight or you'd lose it to a big crab and have to beg your cousin or brother for half their chicken neck. And a holey old dip net with a piece of cane for a handle because the handle fell off. But wow, what a blast for a sheltered little girl from Ohio.

B. also gave me my first slice of watermelon from an ice cold Black Diamond. OMG it was manna from heaven. To this day I think the Israelites were picking Black Diamond watermelon bits off the bushes in the desert. Or cotton candy.

I've spoken about my grandparents elsewhere. Hard, principled people all, but kind underneath. Except for my mother's father. He was just a hard ass. And one great aunt.

I knew 3 of my great grandparents on my mother's side. I still have some of my mother's maternal grandmother's things. I also knew her two husbands, although not well. They were serious cattle and horse men, and didn't have time for such things as visiting. They didn't come to visit often but she did on her own. She was a very calm, genteel lady with immaculately manicured hands and perfectly coiffed hair. She made most of her own clothes so they were a bit coture-ish. I have my fifth grade school picture in a REAL dress she made for me. I wish I still had it, it was absolutely beautiful. She made survival money for their several children during the Depression by sewing. Anything from Paris, Tx. custom coture to curtains and upholstering furniture. She was a true lady but extremely skilled in several disciplines. They were farmers and ranchers in that side of the family. Hard core country people. I like to think I have some of their genetic memory.

My father's side of the family were mostly mixed eastern Europeans as were most of the people in the little town I'm from. Great grandfather A. was a hard ass too, but soft hearted for us little ones. His accent was very thick, but his voice deep and I liked to listen to him speak. Something about that deep voice was soothing to a small child. His wife E. spoke five languages fluently, was a real mathematician, and they were both survivors of some pretty horrific stuff. She was from a very wealthy family, who are still very wealthy, and she married quite 'down market' as she said, but she loved him so what else could she do? A. smoked, so E made him go out in the shed to smoke. I remember him sitting in the doorway of his shed, legs crossed (he was a smallish man) smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee out of a saucer. He'd slurp it loudly and then refill it from the pot of coffee that sat beside him all the time. Each slurp was a serving and then the saucer had to be refilled and swirled just so. It must be an art, drinking coffee out of a saucer. And he could barely walk but he could ice skate beautifully.

E. was a little cross-eyed and it was hard to tell where she was looking. She also dressed up-scale, often in black. A secret mourning for her past? She was once arrested, for serving alcohol to a Greek (don't know why that was a bad thing, but I guess it was?) They ran a sort of inn when they first came to the US. Anyway, she was so indignant about being arrested for serving one of her guests that she berated the judge in two languages and walked out of court in a righteous huff without waiting for a reply. The judge dismissed the case, of course.

My father's other grandparents were Scots Irish. C. and A. I barely remember A., as she had a stroke and couldn't interact much, but she would smile and caress my face. So sweet, like a little angel she looked. C. had crazy white hair that sort of stuck straight up, always wore a brown cardigan and had a delightful laugh. He always gave us kids a peppermint. Oh, they were so poor but did not act as if they were. Probably didn't believe they were either. One of A's. brothers was stabbed to death during Prohibition in a liquor deal gone wrong. Apparently he made 'raisin rum' and sold it.

Great uncle L., my father's uncle, gave us giant dill pickles, of all things. He loved them. I remember him giving me one and I was so small and the pickle so big I had to hold it with two hands. I could only kind of gnaw on it, and apparently that was pretty funny to them all. L's wife G. was a sweetheart too. Not a mean bone in her body. He grew a garden behind their house and had some rabbits in cages. I was always told don't bother L. and G. and leave their rabbits alone. I couldn't obey, I guess, because once I went down there (like 4 or 5 houses down from ours) and pulled a small carrot from the garden and fed it to the rabbit. I looked up to see uncle L. looking out a window, watching me with a huge grin on his face. I didn't do it again, because I knew I shouldn't, but it's a good memory to have. He was a good, kind man, and once caused a scandal because he saved up his money and bought an Auburn Boat Tail Speedster and tore around the state in it for years. Imagine that, saving money to buy a hot sports car!

Great aunt T. was a hoot.She was the greatest brownie maker of all time. And so great aunt B. was a hoot, too. Together they were a riot. Great aunt M. was mean as hell to us kids. Skinny old bat, I don't think she liked anyone. Pity. I don't have a single good memory of her.

I remember so many great aunts and uncles, and second cousins? (my parent's first cousins) and their kids, many of whom are gone now.

Basically, they're all gone now. Just a few of us remain.

 

I met my grandmas as a very little kid, the grandpas were all passed before I was born.

No kids of my own but I have a great, great grand niece and nephew

 

I met my grandmas as a very little kid, the grandpas were all passed before I was born.

Same here.. Well-remember Both GGrammas, and both only ever spoke in 100% Italian, which I was able to understand / comm in.. at least somewhat.. Certainly remember Great Gramma Mary and the threat of her Giant Wooden Spoon!

..Ah, good memories.. Like Gemstones you keep in a velvet bag.. Always precious whenever you take em out and ruminate..

.02
jd

 

The last one died a decade before my oldest cousin on either side was born.

 

I knew both grandfathers and my one grandmother...and both my GGM from my father’s side.

My GM and GF from dad’s side were from the Deep South. Had a big family (8-kids total) And were as country as anything. During the holidays and summers, we would visit them for a good spell. Both my GGM were born before the turn of the century and lived through both World Wars and had all kinds of stories to tell. GF was in the Navy during WWII and my mother‘s dad (GF2) was a young kid in Germany during WWII.

My Childhood memories from both sides are instilled with nothing but good thoughts and memories. When my wife and I married, we both agreed on how important it was for kids to spend lots of time with their grandparents. So when we had kids we made the decision to live close to her parents So the kids can spend as much quality time with them as possible and we see my mother when we go on vacations. My father passed away when I was a teenager And my uncles basically became the role models a kid needed at that time in my life.

My wife’s parents are getting up in age and we have had the conversation about having one of them move in with us when the other passes for as long as we are capable of providing needed care. I remember my GGM living with my grandparents up until her Alzheimer’s got so bad she no longer recognized anyone but my GM. She was 102 when she passed away.

today, none of my grandparents are alive and there is a void in my life because of it. The world still moves on And I don’t like that as I get older time seems to speed up instead of slowing down so we can just stop for a moment and fully enjoy the Experiences life has to offer.

 

I knew a great grandfather and his third wife. (We were from the first wife)
He was born in 1889 and he died about the late 1970s when I was about to get out of highschool.
We used to run when he came in the house when I was little. He would hook us by the neck with his cane and then rub his stubbly face all over our face. He avoided world war one because his (first) wife had just died leaving him with my grandma.
He was a person with a great sense of humor. He lived in the same town as us so we saw Him at least once a week. The now extinct town of Margie Minnesota was named after his sister.

 

I knew them! My paternal GREAT grandparents in the backyard of the house I grew up in.

 

Yep...
Knew 1 of my great-great grandparents
Knew 3 of my great-grandparents
Knew all 4 of my grandparents

I, myself, am the great-grandmother of a 10mo old. God willing, he'll get to know his 4 currently living great-grandparents.

 

Knew all of my grandparents, and three great-grandmothers. Two of them I only met a handful of times, but I was really close with the other. She passed while I was in college in her late 90s.

 

I only knew one grandmother...I came along late in life to a Dad born in 1915 and a Mom in ‘18..One of my great grandmothers survived a yankee cavalry raid on the family farm at age 8...[Great War Of Northern Aggression]...She passed in ‘45,10 yrs before I was born....The rest of the GP’s and GGP’s are only pictures....

 

.