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A 99 Year Old Sums it Up!

Posted on Jan 25, 2012 by MMT   |  

Two months ago, my family and I said our final goodbyes to the strongest woman I have ever known. At 99 years old, my grandmother, affectionately known as “Gammy” expressed to her caregiver that she wanted to lie down because she wasn’t feeling well. She walked into her bedroom, put her head on her pillow and fell asleep. And that was how Gammy’s 99 years ended. She never woke up.

Some may say that we should be grateful that she lived such a long life, and grateful we are. But in many ways it was a final chapter in mine and my sisters lives as both parents,and now grandparents have been laid to rest. Grateful indeed that she was there to dance at our weddings, toast and celebrate our accomplishments, know and cherish her 7 Great-Grand children and always, always, express excitement just to hear our voices. Continuously upbeat, always vocal about how wonderful her marriage, her family, and her life experiences had been it was sometimes difficult to understand how she could stay so sharp, strong and positive after losing her husband, and then her two daughters within a year of each other from the devastating grips of Cancer. Even she, had battled and overcome breast cancer while in her 80’s. And while I have always believed that “tenacity” is the key to success in business, I believe that my grandmother exhibited the meaning of that word best as she lived her life.

In a Biography Channel Quality video that we had arranged for her 95th birthday, Gammy was interviewed and asked what advice she could give to younger generations. She replied, “There is one word, as far as personal life is concerned, one word that could do away with a lot of the heartache, and that one word is COMPROMISE. Take things as they come and try to do the best with them. And, as long as you treat people decently, and you’re honest with yourself and with others, you’ll find that things will be good for you”.

Gammy held a graduate degree, was retired from a career as a High School History Teacher in New York City, had been a successful business owner, a world traveler, a part of the generation who believed one must work for what they get and spend only what they have, and yet, at 99, her biggest piece of advice was simple and very basic. Perhaps the world would be a much better place if we all took the advice of Gammy.

Perhaps the biggest tribute one can make is the lifetime of relationships, accomplishments, truths, and values, that live on in those whose lives they’ve touched.

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