My 99-year-old Grandma Stoodt, who was my last living grandparent, died last Saturday in Cleveland. Here is her obituary. I was hoping to have a grandparent at my wedding someday. At least everyone will be able to remember both of my grandmas through my blog. My twin sister, mom, and I video-chatted with Grandma Stoodt about six hours before she died. Since she struggled to speak and open her eyes, I am thankful that she is no longer suffering. I enjoyed having a longer conversation with her in late December. As I believe every grandparent asks, she asked for a dating update. This was always a struggle for me to share, so I enjoyed it when she shared about how different and easier dating was for her before the dating apps and more extreme hookup culture existed.
While I was looking forward to helping to organize and participate in her 100th birthday party in July (her actual birthday was August 28), I wanted to publish this post as a way to start her celebration of life. I published a similar post when Grandma Atkinson died in 2022. My family is planning her celebration of life during the same trip in July. Hopefully, I will be able to handle back-to-back celebrations. I wanted to share the below photos from my last trip to visit both of my grandmas in 2021. I used to visit them annually, so I feel awkward that I did not take the time to visit Grandma Stoodt in 2023. I was so focused on moving quickly from Petaluma to Memphis to start my new job. At least we talked and video-chatted several times.
I enjoyed hiking with Grandma Stoodt, Aunt Robin, my parents, and my twin sister during our 2019 trip to Ohio. I am glad the trail was ADA accessible.
While the above posts give the sense that I always visited Grandma Stoodt in the Cleveland region, I actually spent more time with her in the small village of Bellville, OH. As someone who usually prefers to visit big cities, visiting Bellville got me out of my comfort zone. Due to the perception that rural areas cannot have some density, which was actually asked about on my American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) exam, experiencing Bellville’s moderate density helped me to get this question correct. I enjoyed walking to Stoodt’s Market, which was co-owned by Grandma Stoodt. I am trying to find an article about how the opening of Walmart in Mansfield and the increased willingness of people to drive from Bellville to Mansfield caused Stoodt’s Market to become bankrupt. Due to Stoodt’s Fresh Market (new name when it reopened) being the only grocery store in Bellville, I am thankful it still exists after the bankruptcy.
As I continue scrolling through my Instagram account, I am thankful that I documented all of my visits. I have more photos from before I started using Instagram. Since I attended the University of Oregon for a study abroad course, watching them play The Ohio State University was difficult for me. At least the University of Michigan games were easier for me to pick a side and more important for everyone I know in Ohio.
I wanted to share the below 2016 photo because most of my memories involved playing card games with Grandma Stoodt. She was very competitive, which was overwhelming sometimes when I just wanted to have fun!
I am not seeing any more Instagram posts with Grandma Stoodt. Most of my memories came before I started posting on Instagram. While I cannot get the photo to upload properly (use this Facebook link), Grandma Stoodt met my high school senior exit project advisor, Margaret Andersen, during my 2013 graduation from UNC Charlotte. Since grieving was discussed at my church yesterday, I wanted to end my post by sharing that I found this sermon at the Church of the River helpful as I grieve. Hopefully, I will be able to function normally when I return to work tomorrow. I plan to use my bereavement days for the celebration of life in July.
Future Blog Post
I have been working on Memphis’ Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Action Plan. Since the SS4A grant requires that I keep the media informed about my work, I am confident that I will have media interviews to share in the future.
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What great photos of Grandma Stoodt. I hope we are all as loved and cared for in our final chapter as she was.