Our dear Mom Lewis turned 94-years old last September, 2014. Her health has been amazing good for many years, but we saw a decline from September on. It was almost like she had to get through Thanksgiving, Christmas, and then the New Year before she could really start mentally preparing to leave this life. On New Years day we received an email from Dantzelle with the sad news that Grandma was not doing well. From her email of Jan 1, 2015:
Sunday after church Delon said Mom started having hard coughing and shortness of breath. She began feeling anxious as she felt she couldn't get enough oxygen. She began feeling pain in her back, arms and shoulders.
Mom was put on oxygen 24 hours a day and was also prescribed a low dose of codine in a cough syrup. That did help for a few days.
Delon she was exhausted as Mom was up hourly with coughing, weak and needing 24 hour care. Delon asked if I could come and help.
I came Tuesday morning. Mom has been in more pain and weaker and weaker. Though typical of her....she has her ups and downs and her mind is very sharp!
Today, the good Dr. Matheney, made a house call to Mom and assured her all would be well and knows that Malin is anxiously waiting for her. He has now prescribed heavier pain killers and feels it's time to do whatever we need to keep her comfortable. Of course this means she will sleep more and more and more..............
We had a sweet and tender experience today as mom is more than ready to see her loved ones on the other side.
We learned later that Mom had said that she had seen Dad's face. I think that helped her mentally know that this was her time to go.
It was a difficult 12 days where she no longer wanted food, drinking was difficult, and soon it was just sucking on a sponge. Myreel and Durelle came to help and Dantzelle returned home. It took two of them giving her 24 hour care to get through the process of her body shutting down. Mom wanted them to be in the room with her and to have one person hold her hand all the time. If they slightly adjusted their position she would immediately whisper, "Don't leave me, keep holding my hand."
The sisters all commented how sweet Mom was for every little thing they did for her. She expressed her appreciation all the time. Although hardly able to move or speak, she would give thanks for their service.
When Seth got the word that Grandma was not doing well, he texted Dantzelle to see if he could talk with her. As it was so difficult for her to hear or speak, they were just going to relay a message to Seth, but instead they decided to video record Grandma's last message to her 75 grandchildren. It was very sweet. She mentioned Ondalynn & Seth as she remembers them growing up next door to her. That was a special time for her to have them close and to enjoy them everyday. In turn, Ondalynn, Seth, Alice-Anne, Vivi and Dallin were particularly close as they grew up next door and then later, not far from them. The thing she empasized over and over again was how important a testimony is in your life. She shared her testimony and then told them to never stop sharing their testimony. What a marvelous woman. The gospel was the center of her life and she instilled that important truth in the lives of her 12 children. She and Grandpa Lewis were mighty, faithful saints that blessed thousands of lives.
Grandma suffered much discomfort and pain in the end. Monday morning, January 12th, about 7 a.m. Myreel called for Clyde as Grandma seemed especially uncomfortable. He spoke directly into her ear, "Mom are you in pain?" Her shallow response was, "It's all over." From then on she didn't say anything else, and she was not responding to them. At 8:38 a.m. MT in Kindman, AZ, Mom left this mortal existence through the door of death, into a new life with her her God and her family waiting for her on the other side of the veil. Delon felt that her last words meant that this was the end.
We received the word of her passing about 8 a.m. just as we were finishing up a training call with our distributors. Although sad to have her pass, it was such a relief to have her move on in her eternal progression and be free of her suffering. She had received a blessing from Clyde around the first part of January, releasing her. From then on she wanted to die and couldn't understand why she hadn't. She kept asking, "Why hasn't Malin come to get me?" Or, "What do I need to do that I haven't done so I can die?" It was so tender and heartbreaking for the family there to see her pleading and suffering in the end as her body literally wasted away the last two weeks.
Immediately, everyone began making plans of flying or driving to the funeral. Amazingly, we were on a plane by Thursday morning to Las Vegas and then to catch a ride at the airport to Kingman with Tiffany (Branson's wife), Myreel & Camilla from BYU-I, little Delon and a friend. Ondalynn & Gary and Vivi were with us on our flight and we all piled in that very full van.
We arrived in Kingman in time for me to participate in the sweet privilege of assisting in the dressing of Mom's body at the funeral home before the viewing. It was our last act to serve her on this earth. I know that as we strive to live good lives, we continue to serve her as well.
Thursday evening, we went to the Pease's home for the viewing. We had a chance to walk through Grandma's apartment noticing precious items that they remembered over the years, and later had the chance to choose items that we wanted to remember her by.
I'm grateful all of our children except Crismon Jr (in Taiwan) could come to the funeral. It was a great reunion to gather to honor this wonderful Mother, Grandmother, and Great-Grandmother. Amazingly, 65 of the 75 grandchildren were there. The pictures show what fun these cousins had visiting and getting caught up on each others lives.
Alice-Anne and Gary drove down from West Jordan. It was nice to have their children there, too, although everything happened so fast, we hardly had time to visit as there was so many people to connect with in such a short time. We really appreciated the Johns bringing Julia & Emily with them. Meredith & Bryan came from Glendale with their 3 children, too. We loved having some of our precious grandchildren to hold and love.
The funeral was beautiful beyond words. I know Grandma would have been so pleased. Myreel gave a wonderful tribute of her life story, the great-grandchildren sang, "Families Can Be Together Forever," the grandchildren sang "Oh, My Father" under the direction of Wick. He is a masterful director and they sounded amazing. All ten children shared one special memory each, and then Malin gave a terrific Gospel message in the end. Grandma's life was full of service to others and in the church, dedication to her family, devotion to her husband, and laced with humor and happiness. She is an incredible example to all of us. Meredith was asked to be the organist at the last minute and she did so well. I'm glad she had that opportunity to participate and show her love to Grandma.
The sisters put together a lovely display of pictures and momentos of Grandma Lewis' life. Clyde had made a special video of Grandma several years ago that was especially wonderful to share. I kind of stayed in one spot as it was difficult for me to stand and visit, so I appreciated anyone that came my way and stopped to sit down and chat for awhile. The Relief Society sisters prepared a delicious lunch for all of us. We were quite a crowd, I think it was about 150 or more.
We appreciated the Reliv corporate team that sent flowers. Considering there are 65,000 distributors, we were honored to have them think of us and have them send their love and sympathy. Each of the daughters and daughter-in-law were given the opportunity of picking a brooch from Grandma's collection. She loved wearing brooches and even if she was in a house dress, she would still put on a brooch. I think it was just the last week of her life that she didn't ask for one to be put on her housedress. She always knew the exact one she wanted to match her outfit.
We love our wonderful family. Nothing would please Grandma and Grandpa Lewis more than to see each one striving to live the Gospel and to pass that on to their children. It was our 40th Wedding Anniversary on the day of the funeral. We never would have guessed that we would have all our children, except Crismon Jr. with us on that day. Also, we had Tiffany, Gary Vance, Gary Johns and Bryan Williams. Thank you all for being with us! We appreciated Janelle, Brett and Austin to be supportive and let their spouses attend.
We were encouraged to wear pink in honor of Grandma as she loved that color. She felt like it made her feel beautiful. She always liked bright, happy colors. All ten of the living children and all their spouses were in attendance as well. We stayed throughout the afternoon visiting and then the Allen family helped put on the dinner, compliments of Grandma, who had wanted to provide Mexican food for everyone the day of the funeral. With so many in the building, it was in need of clean up before we left. We were organized as families to do specific jobs. Many hands make light work and it was soon looking great. Then all our children gathered in our hotel room for us to give them momentos from their grandparents and to visit before the Johns, Emily and Julia would leave to return the next morning to head home. Again, our time together was so short. Every minute was precious. Our children also honored us that evening with gifts and Anniversary letters which we treasure.
Early Saturday morning we drove to Mesa for the burial in the Mesa Cementary next to Grandpa. It was the most beautiful graveside service I have ever heard. Dantzelle shared Mom's life story and she did so well. The grandchildren sang again, although the numbers were less, it was still very moving. Cylde dedicated the grave. It was wonderful to see many friends and family there. At the end, there were gold and silver markers that we could use to write a special message to Grandma on her casket. It was a nice way to express our love one more time. We then went to Alvin's church building not far away for a lunch put on by the granddaughters that lived in the Phoenix valley. We appreciated all the great food that was provided.
This first picture was a beautiful picture of Grandma Myreel that Duraye took several years ago. It was a picture we used in her funeral program. She was an incredible lady! How blessed we are to have her in our lives.
We are so thankful that Families are Forever. We know we will see Grandma and Grandpa again some day, and all of our relatives who have left this earth life before us. How grateful we are for our Savior Jesus Christ, for His Atoning Sacrifice that makes all this possible.
