Grandparents

A post from a friend of mine today made me think about the topic of grandparents.  She had a grandmother that reminded me of my Mee Maw.  She liked to cook for her grandchildren, taught them card games and such, and was well loved by everybody.  The  grandmother who every grandchild hoped to be (and felt like) the favorite of.  Many people have fond stories about their grandparents.  It reminded me that my dad didn’t have very many memories of his grandparents.

Though the subjects in this photo may be questionable, the facts I tell about it are as accurate as I can get.  I believe this is my father in 1930.  He was born in January of 1929 in Lake Charles, Louisiana.  This kid looks about a year or so old and it looks like my dad from other photos that I’ve seen from around that time.  If you think he looks like a little girl in this photo, you should see some of the other photos of him!  Those curls of his were there from the beginning.  The other two people in the photo are his surviving grandparents when the photo was taken.

My dad’s paternal grandmother was Marie Celeste Leveque Landry.  She was married to Simon Alcide Joseph Landry who died in 1917.  On the other side was his maternal grandfather Vincent Maximilian Patureau, who was always fondly spoken of as “Grampa Max.”  His wife was Marie Therese Landry and she died in 1909.  These two were not a couple, but they were related.  (All of his grandparents were related!)  They were half 2nd cousins.  The photo was not labeled, but I have identified them because I recognize them from other photos that I’ve been looking through.  And who else would it be?  It makes sense that he would be in a photo with his grandparents.

It’s the only photo of him with his grandparents.  Not only because people back then did not take 1/1000ths of the number of photos that people take nowadays, but also because his grandparents didn’t live much longer.  His grandmother died in 1934 and his grandfather followed suit the next year.  So shortly after his 6th birthday, little Bobbie did not have any grandparents left.  That’s kind of sad.  I have many fond memories of my grandparents.  I had 24 years worth of memories.  I had more years than he did, but not as many as I would have liked.

So now all I can do is cherish the memories of my grandparents.  I know many of you do, too.  For some of you that still have grandparents, make the most of it.  For those with grandchildren, you make the most of it, too.  Be funny; be cantankerous; give them something; take something away from them; share your truths with them; tell a few white lies. I don’t have to tell you to love them.  I think that comes naturally to most people.  Leave them with something to cherish.