Meet My Grandparents

April marks the one year anniversary of the death of my maternal grandparents. In their honor, I would like to tell you about them. My mother's parents are Aubrey "Red" Willoughby and Beatrice Jane (Thompson) Willoughby.

They were born around the end of World War I. Grandpa did every kind of work you could imagine; he worked with the Civilian Conservation Corps as a camp cook, sold life insurance, worked at a gas station, and owned his own auto parts store. He even ran for sheriff once, but lost, much to my Grandmother's delight. Whatever it took to provide for his family, he did it. Grandpa was a baseball player, a southpaw pitcher playing for farm league teams. He was an outstanding example of a good Christian man. Growing up, I spent many summers with him and Grandma, and every time I was there, I remember him reading his Bible and preparing for his Sunday school lesson (he was a teacher for years). He was also a Deacon in his church, Cherry Corner Baptist in Murray, KY. He helped found and served as President of the local Civitan club.

In late 1962 or early 1963, Grandma was in a horrible car accident and lost both her legs. She was ejected from the car, and the wheels ended up on her legs, still in gear and rotating, grinding her legs off. She never lost consciousness. She was one of the strongest women I've ever known in my life, and I'm awfully proud to have had her as my grandma. She never let her handicap slow her down, doing more with no legs in one day than many healthy people do in a week. I remember one time she told me she was always grateful to have lost her legs and not her hands, because she loved handicrafts so much. She knitted, sewed, embroidered, crocheted and did all different kinds of crafts. I remember she would take old soda cans and slice them up, then roll the strips with a pair of tweezers to make a pin-cushion throne, with the bottom of the can serving as the seat. She would make a little fluffy pillow to sit on the seat, and that would be where you stuck your pins. She was always doing something creative. Grandmother was just as hard a worker as Grandpa. At the funeral I heard for the first time how she worked in a mill, and when she had to stay home to take care of her kids, they would bring her machine home so she could work and watch the kids. She was faster than anybody on her machine, I was told. In early April of 2005, Grandma had a stroke and died a few days later. About three weeks later, my grandfather, her husband of 67 years, died of a broken heart.

I love my grandparents very much and miss them dearly, but I know I will see them again in Glory.