Tuesday, May 31, 2005

Olga Kaersvang - 1920 to 2005.

My Grandmother, Olga Kaersvang, passed away on May 30th. She was 85 years old. While 85 years is a pretty good run at it, I am still sad. She was a special lady - a mother of 6 children! She moved her family to Canada from Denmark in the 1960's so they could have a better life but returned to Denmark before I was born due to my Grandfather's poor health. This is a picture of her and me in the summer of 1982.

She had a lovely lilting accent when she spoke English (or what we called "Danglish") and she never quite mastered the use of pronouns (but I'm not throwing stones because I do not speak a word of Danish). The card she sent when I was born read:

"Little Darling Baby. Im so happy about you ariving ind our family. I wel be seeing you sun, so be good. Bedstemor" She also sent one to my dad. It read "Tank you for the telegram. i am happy for our little Katrina. (Our was underlined twice.) Take good care of hir and the darling Mother of Katrina." It was addressed to him as "To my son and new happy Father."

My dad is flying to Denmark tonight for her funeral. Rest in peace Grandma.

7 comments:

  1. God bless you and yours during this difficult time.
    I understand what you are saying...even though she died at 85 (and you'll hear people say "she lived a full life", no doubt) you still feel sad.
    That happened to me as well... when all 4 grandparents died in a span of 5 years.

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  2. that's sweet. i never really knew my dad's mom, and my mom's mother is nowhere near as charming. thoughts to you...

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  3. Just wanted to send you a hug. My Nana just arrived in Canada this weekend for a visit and your post has reminded me how precious our time is together. Take care.

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  4. Ladies - thank you for all of your support and kind words :-)

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  5. Hi Kat,

    So sorry to hear about your grandma. No matter how long they live, it's always too soon when a loved one passes away. Give me a call if you need a loving, supportive brother-in-law to talk to.

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  6. I'm sorry to hear about your family's loss, Kat. Hope that everyone, and especially your dad, can be filled with God's peace and comfort during this hard time. My prayers and thoughts are with you.

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