Elizabeth Maus

Grandma Betty's death shocked me, because I never thought of my Grandma Betty as an old lady. Actually, I considered her to be quite spry.I'm sitting in her dining room. On the wall in front of me is a portrait photograph of the complete Maus family'Betty, Wendy, Bill, John, Bob, Jim, Jeff, and Greg. My eyes are drawn to my grandma. Those big, tinted glasses, that large floral print shirt, and short, curly, black and grey hair. I'm looking at her like I've never before. Prior to Monday, I would have looked at the photo for a few seconds, recognizing my grandma and moving on. Today, I look at her face and study it. I try to connect it to how she looked in real life, in my countless memories of card-games, fishing, conversation and laughter. Because of her absence, I am able to see her as a face, to separate her physical appearance from who she was. I never ever thought of this before, but my grandma looks a lot like other grandmas!She may look like other grandmas, but she certainly was anything but. My Grandma Betty was an extraordinary woman. Born on March 18th, 1934 to William and Ora Hubel, she was already breaking rules as an infant. The priest stipulated that her real, Catholic name should be Elizabeth. Betty graduated from high school in 1952, and nursing school in 1955. When all of her friends wanted to live in Hawaiian paradise, she chose a cute boy by the name of Wendell instead. They married on June 9, 1956.Grandma Betty was always a bit'feisty. She told it how she saw it, was certainly not a push-over, and was always respected for that. I think it was from caring for 7 males in a small farmhouse. When she wasn't working in the home, she was caring for the elderly as an RN. All the while, Grandma and Grandpa delighted in watching their family grow.Bill married Sharon who gave birth to Katie (who married Ryan Kroschel), Patrick (who married another Elizabeth), Megan (who married Michael Radtke), and Ryan.Jeff married Brenda who gave birth to Shawn, Corey (who is engaged to Annika) and Mandy. John married Rhonda who gave birth to Tony, Todd, Nicole. And Greg married Melissa who gave birth to Derek and Kristen.Grandma Betty was also awaiting the birth of two great grandchildren.I guess I only have photographs to remind me of Grandma Betty's appearance, but I can remind myself of who she was through the hourly sounds from her numerous clocks, her porcelain dolls and figurines lined up on shelves, the gambling and fishing games on her computer, her huge supply of mint gum, the beautiful corn fields, wind and blue skies surrounding her farmhouse, in card games, in her family, friends, and the other countless people she blessed with her presence.