My family lost our beloved Queen September 20th at 95 years old. We are incredibly fortunate to have had her for as long as we did, but somehow it is not enough. Nanny was truly remarkable. She was not just a grandmother to my sister, cousins and me….she was a friend, a confidante and always our biggest cheerleader. Not your ordinary grandmother, that’s for sure. She took my sister and me and a group of friends to Destin/Sandestin/Panama City each year of high school for spring break. And we loved it. How many teenagers want to go on spring break with their grandmother? My friends adored her.
Nanny was an amazing mother. Her husband passed away when my mom and uncle were teenagers. She raised them to be phenomenal adults.
Her many great grandchildren were spoiled by her. How thankful I am that my children, niece, nephew and cousins have so many memories of their great grandmother. Not many can say that.
Born and raised in London, Nanny was a Brit through and through. Very proper and polite. I’d like to think she brought a touch of class everywhere she went.
My dear friend and college roommate sent me this text yesterday and I think it describes Nanny perfectly:
Nanny was a Grande Dame. A surrogate grandmother to us all, and the very model of dignity and kindness. I feel so lucky to have known her, and I know how enriched her life was because she was so central to your upbringing and her great grandchildren’s. What a life extraordinarily well lived. The world is a lesser place without her in it, but I am a better person for having known her.
Not only did Nanny take Alison and me to the Florida panhandle for a week of debauchery every year, she also took us to her hometown of London several times, just the three of us. Seeing Nanny in her favorite city is something I’ll always cherish. She was a city girl at heart. I took Nanny to London for her final visit eight years ago. I hate that we never got to go back and take the grandchildren with her, but Covid got in the way of that.
Most of my photos with Nanny are in actual albums, but here are a few I have on my phone…
Nanny
Nanny was remarkably healthy and vibrant up until just a few weeks ago. For that, I will always be thankful.
She will be missed more than I can convey. I don’t think it’s coincidental that Nanny passed around the same time as Queen Elizabeth II. She loved England and especially Queen Elizabeth.
RIP, Nanny (her real name is Joan, but she will always be “Nanny” to our family and friends).
