Birth date: May 27, 1927 Death date: Feb 16, 2014
Betty Marilyn Robinson (née Young) passed away peacefully, and surrounded by many family members, on February 16, 2014 at Highline Medical Center in Burien, Washington. Born May 27th, 1927 in Seattle, WA to Ed and Muriel Young, sh Read Obituary
“Seize from every moment its uniqueness, especially this week.”
My son, David, found fortune in his cookie the other day. It has been quite a unique week. It’s not every day we lose a loved one, and losing Grandma last Sunday has brought many moments of revelation. This week alone I have realized the power of loved ones gathering in one small hospital room to say goodbye to a wife, mother, grandmother, and sister. Gathering pictures and hearing stories shared of Gramma’s life has reminded me that each life is a gift
A treasured memory I have is one day, while I was staying in Gramma and Grampa’s Airstream in Mesa (their Leisure World home was being built) I was rubbing the golden fabric in the Airstream’s bench seat and the butternut squash-colored flower in the print reminded me of a food I had and liked. I didn’t know what it was called. And as I rubbed the flower I told Gramma I wanted “that” for dinner. She kneeled down next to me and she listened and tried guessing what food I was trying to describe. Finally she said “Butternut Squash.” I didn’t think that was it, and she did finally give up. Years later I had butternut squash again and I realized she was right. Whenever I have mashed butternut squash with salt and butter, I think of Gramma. And I think about her patience with me and her desire to really understand what I was saying. That is a gift.
Another fond memory I have is spending many days, really months, going through all of Great-grandma Muriel’s stuff after she passed away. As Gramma Betty, my mom, Aunt Jan, Aunt Gail and Aunt Sharon sifted through her many treasures they told stories of Grandma Muriel. I remember the laugher and the revelations about her life. Stories are a gift, and Gramma was always willing to share stories of her life and what she knew of her mother’s life, and her grandmother’s life, with me. Because of those stories I have a better understanding of where I come from. That is a gift.
A final memory I’ll share is when I was 12 or 13 I flew down to Mesa to spend Spring Break with Gramma and Grampa. After a couple days visit the plan was for them to drive me back to Washington on their annual Spring trek north. I watched as Gramma packed the house to leave for six months, and prepare for a journey through four states. She planned out all our meals and made many of them ahead of time. That is when I learned how to make Swedish meatballs, now one of my husband’s favorite dishes. She also showed me how to make Friday Soup – meaning soup from whatever was leftover in the fridge on Friday. It did not sound appetizing (it turned out to be) but what I grasped was the logistics of using up all the food and not letting it spoil. During our drive north I spent folding and unfolding a real paper map and learning what each symbol meant and how to measure distance. From Gramma I learned about planning, organization, and how to read a map. That is a gift.
I am grateful for the tangible, real-life lessons I seized from my moments with Gramma. She taught me that trying to understand is valuable to the person who wants to be understood. She taught me that family stories tell us who we are and where we’re from. I am proud to be from this family. From her I learned the value of goods and organizing our time. It’s not just food we shouldn’t waste, it is also our memories and the unique moments from which we learn more about life. I want to preserve the lessons I have learned this week, absorbing Gramma’s stories and imagining the life that was going on in the pictures of Gramma that pre-date me. I want to preserve this feeling of gratitude that she was my Gramma and she raised three wonderfully loving daughters, one of whom is my mother, and that her love and dedication and understanding flows through her to me, and that I pass it on to my children. Not everyone had Betty Robinson as a Gramma, and I am grateful that I am one of the few who did. She was a gift.
BettyHegge(Jacobson Young) expresses gratitude in knowing and loving "Aunt Betty" who was an inspiration to me to cherish the important things in life--- family, love, nature, and most importantly to "Bloom where you are planted", which she did so elegantly.
Michael Gilmore, as a life long friend of the family, sends his heartfelt condolences for the passing of Betty. The memories will always be there.
