Grandma Waddell

Joann Barbara Schaeffer Waddell
June 27, 1929 - April 8, 2010

Grandma Waddell passed away this evening after being hospitalized a few days ago for a serious stroke. Though this is a difficult time for me, I know she is safe in the arms of our Father-in-Heaven. I love to think of the huge welcome she must have received, surrounded by countless family members for whom she searched and then performed work for in the temple. I am so grateful for a knowledge of the Plan of Salvation, which assures that our families are eternal and bound together forever.

There are so many things I love about Grandma, but here are just a few of my favorite things about her.

• First of all, how gorgeous is that photo above? It was taken in the early 1960s and I simply love it. Oh and by the way, by the early 1960s she had already given birth to three of her four children. Stunning.
  
• She dressed every day as if for a special event. Even at home in jeans and a sweater, you can be certain she had her make-up done, pink lipstick on and was wearing one of her beautiful pieces of jewelry to set it all off. I particularly loved a large turquoise necklace I think she and my Grandpa bought on an eastern European cruise.
  
• You can be certain her fingernails and toenails were always perfectly painted. Her fingernails were usually something subtle and classy, a light pink more often than not. The color on her toes was a different story. She always told my sister and me that your toenails should be painted as brightly as possible so you could see the color even through the sand when you were at the beach.
  
• She loved the beach and so do I. I remember going to watch her play beach volleyball in Manhattan Beach, CA with a group of ladies from her church congregation when I was a little girl. Before one particular match with the girls some 20 years ago, she found a kitchen spatula buried in the sand. They used it that day to hold the rope in place that set off their court and it became a staple item in Grandma’s kitchen from then on. She said it was the best spatula she ever owned.
• When my sister and I went to visit her for weekends during the summer, we always went for early morning swims in her pool and then had homemade oatmeal. Oh how we loved that oatmeal. Grandma put loads of butter on everything she ate, including the oatmeal, and in addition to the butter, our oatmeal always had plenty of cream and lots of brown sugar.

I love you, Grandma!