Birth date: Mar 28, 1928 Death date: Feb 8, 2022
Ottilia Lacher Condos. She came from a centuries old farming heritage. Crop failure and famine drove her early family and entire communities to free land and the promise of no military servitude to Odessa, Ukraine. The famines fol Read Obituary
A highlight of my childhood was visiting with my grandma. She was Grandma Lacher at the time as my Grandpa Lacher was alive. Once a year or so, they would drive from Washington to North Dakota or on occasion, we would drive from North Dakota to Washington. Grandma always seemed happy to see us and to spend time on the farm. We would go on occasional walks and of course, play cards. Grandpa and her attempted to teach me pinochle but that was never particularly successful. I can remember hours of playing a simple poker game and the excitement if you were the one to win the pot of nickels. Both sides of my family were avid card players so a visit from my Washington grandparents meant the whole family would get together to share a meal and a night of fun.
It seemed that Grandma was often making something for her loved ones. I still have a blanket that she made for me and my mother's childhood doll that Grandma crocheted a wedding dress for. I can also remember her making embroidered towels and some clothes for my dolls. I am grateful to have seen my grandma in 2016 back in North Dakota. My kids were able to meet her, and they were shocked when we walked from the hotel to a store, and she left all the younger people in her dust as she quickly took off walking.
Grandma endured heartache and hard times that I am sure I will never understand the true extent of those losses. She lost a baby herself, and her granddaughter died at a young age. Grandma was far too young to lose a grandchild. She lost my Grandpa and then Jim. More recently, two of her adult children unexpectedly passed away. Grandma was strong and found a way to carry on in spite of these tragedies. She continued to love those around her, and I don't believe ever lost her faith.
I looked through all my photos from childhood and found that most of the photos were of the family eating together, some random staged photos, and a delightful photo of Grandma helping my mom make a small Christmas tree. My favorite one that I found is this one of Grandma feeding a carrot to our horses Babe and Barney. It was in the winter of 1987, and I think that Grandma found joy in the little things in life like giving a carrot to a horse on a winter day as the sun was setting. May her soul be at peace.
