Lamb and Frog

Stella Diane Thomas Gray joined her husband Raymond on April 6, 2010.

She was 99 years old.

She was laid to rest in her Temple clothes.

What I Always Knew

She was an amazing seamstress.

She was an amazing gardener.

She worked hard—real hard and for no ‘pay’.

She saved money rather than spent it—she was a child of The Great Depression.

She cooked from scratch.

She set the table for meals—everything had a serving dish, no pots on the table.

She loved nature, especially the Oregon Coast.

She loved flowers, especially pink ones.

What I Didn’t Know

She was Miss Rexburg.

She was a model for the first women’s Levis. I never saw my Grandmother in anything less formal than slacks—not even when she was mowing the lawn (with a push mower).

She was sent to live with an aunt in Utah when she was a teenager because she was “getting too big for her britches”—and that’s where she met my Grandpa.

What I Know Now

Stella was a devoted wife and mother who spent most of her life in the service of her family and her church. I think some people saw her as submissive, the little woman ruled by her husband’s wishes, but I don’t think that was really how it was. Stella wasn’t submissive. She was a bright, beautiful, passionate, and independent woman. She had a fiery temper (I’m told) and could be stubborn as a mule. She chose to live for her God and her family rather than for herself or some other, less worthy, cause.

The best way to remember Stella is not by writing down what I know and can remember of her, but by doing my best, every day of my life, to live with the kind of grace that she exemplified. As a rule, this is something at which I fail miserably, but I’m a better woman for the trying.