Fresh on the 'just turned 30' bus, I took off home last Friday morning for the family's turn at celebrations. I'd also bid a fond farewell to the lovely Travis who was leaving the following day to return to the States, having completed his stint at Victoria Uni. We'd had a lot of fun times together over the past few months and I was really sorry to see him go. Still, in this new fangled age, there really is no reason not to stay in touch now is there?
Touching down in Invercargill, Michelle was there to meet me and had some unfortunate news - after a quick decline during the week, Grandma had passed away that morning.
She'd been at Calvary for the past two and a half years, after suffering a stroke at home (to which I alluded to in the last bullet point here). While she remained a fairly bright spark during her time there, she was never the same as before ... in the end, it was a blessing I suppose.
However, Grandma was the kind of woman who never said no to a good party and given that, we all decided to press on with the party on Saturday ... a last hurrah, as it were. The bus dutifully pulled up at 7pm (for it was one of those time-honoured mystery bus tours, no less) and around 40 friends, family, and friends of family all piled on board for a whistle-stop tour of Southland.
Winton, Drummond, Otautau and Riverton were all taken in, locals were met and greeted (with varying levels of enthusiasm), beer by the jug was served and a little live music topped off the evening before our return to Invercargill. Again, I was spoiled rotten ... people really have been sweet to me over this whole aging business.
Mum, Dad, Michelle and I travelled up to Athol (Grandma's village) on Monday afternoon to meet up with the extended family prior to the funeral on Tuesday. We were a bit down, naturally, but it was a good chance to tell a few stories, have a few honorary gins, and watch a few cousins get embarrassed by old home videos.
The funeral itself was a real tribute to what a great lady she was - Dad, Uncle Alan and I spoke, Uncle Ron gave a short reading and my cousin Caroline delivered a cracker poem she'd penned earlier. The rain broke and as per her wishes, a piper accompanied her out of the Athol Hall and escorted the hearse and mourners up State Highway 6 to the cemetary. We laid Grandma to rest beside Grandad - together again as she'd always wanted to be.
Daphne Pannett - a wonderful woman, who loved her family and those around her deeply, and whose presence will be profoundly missed.
‹ 8.7.04
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