Yesterday, while glancing through some old photos that Julee had sent, I found this brief excerpt from a family history written by Julee's father (Jean's brother-in-law), Lee Blair. It's about Jean and June's maternal grandmother, Grandma Hoenshell.
"1940. One of the great things about dating June was picking her up for a date, and being entertained by her Grandma Hoenshell while I was waiting for her. She always wanted to entertain me. At this time she was in her 70's, a slender gray-haired lady of true delight. She was raised on a farm, and had this story of coming back from town in a wagon with a load of pigs and going in a ditch and falling off. The pigs scattered everywhere. I heard this story almost every time I arrived at 1805 Commonwealth in Alhambra, and later when they moved to 1812 Pepper Street, just a couple of blocks away. She was such a great sport, and after we were married and we ate at a restaurant somewhere, she would always say at the end of the meal, "Well, that was worth a quarter!", and then "Lee, you forgot some money", referring to the tip."
"She was so proud of her beautiful daughter in Holton, Kansas. Mother Charles - Jessie - WAS a looker, and very popular in High School. However, Grandma Hoenshell spoiled her a lot, especially since she became a truly accomplished pianist."
"Grandma had mild stomach problems (always taking some slight medicine), but lived to be 90 and died in 1951. I remember her nose always had a patch of adhesive on the bridge of it - she had had cancer and it left a hole there which she always covered. June inherited this tendency and had cancer there in her midlife."
"1940. One of the great things about dating June was picking her up for a date, and being entertained by her Grandma Hoenshell while I was waiting for her. She always wanted to entertain me. At this time she was in her 70's, a slender gray-haired lady of true delight. She was raised on a farm, and had this story of coming back from town in a wagon with a load of pigs and going in a ditch and falling off. The pigs scattered everywhere. I heard this story almost every time I arrived at 1805 Commonwealth in Alhambra, and later when they moved to 1812 Pepper Street, just a couple of blocks away. She was such a great sport, and after we were married and we ate at a restaurant somewhere, she would always say at the end of the meal, "Well, that was worth a quarter!", and then "Lee, you forgot some money", referring to the tip."
"She was so proud of her beautiful daughter in Holton, Kansas. Mother Charles - Jessie - WAS a looker, and very popular in High School. However, Grandma Hoenshell spoiled her a lot, especially since she became a truly accomplished pianist."
"Grandma had mild stomach problems (always taking some slight medicine), but lived to be 90 and died in 1951. I remember her nose always had a patch of adhesive on the bridge of it - she had had cancer and it left a hole there which she always covered. June inherited this tendency and had cancer there in her midlife."
