Gracie’s career was as a kindergarten teacher in the suburbs west of Chicago.
Born in London, her family came to America soon after their home was bombed and looted in the early 1990s. She said it was sad for her to see her friends playing with her toys. My grandpa, from Germany, came to America to start a new life for his wife, three daughters and a son. Starting in Chicago, he heard that Portland was a good place to work, so he came here. A short time later he was contacted by his former employers who owned a meat market and grocery store, as this man’s meat cutter had cut his hand badly and could not work at that job anymore. So grandpa went back to Chicago and soon sent for his family to join him here. He eventually bought the business.
My mom went to school to become a teacher. Her students loved her, and when the school had their open house, her former students would come to visit. Gracie was very artistic, and one year the classroom had Japanese decorations, including branches that she painted and planted to resemble cherry trees. The children made cherry blossoms from pink and white crepe paper, twisted along the branches. Years later, she went to the wedding of one of her students. She also did tutoring when I was growing up, and one student, Colleen Tracy, drew a picture of my mom. Colleen was a younger relative of the actor Spencer Tracy. I still have that 1956 drawing framed in my living room.
After I moved to Vancouver, my mom and dad soon followed. Back in those days, a century ago, a woman married a man older than she was. But that didn’t happen this time. She was actually 11 months older than my dad. When it came time to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary, she did not want a party as people would know how old she was! My dad said, “Gracie, you’re not a spring chicken, you know.” Still, there was no celebration. Mom didn’t even look her age until well into her seventies.
In 1992, my mom died, and my dad died in 1995. The last time I saw my mom was early March this year. She was standing in the doorway of our bedroom dressed in her mink coat and little mink hat, her hair beautifully coiffed, wearing her glasses, and she smiled at me. The vision lasted a few moments, and then she was gone.
