She was the third child of Basil Clements and Edna Alice Wampler. She was always known by her middle name, Agnes. The two things central to her heart were family and music. She believed in excellence. By the age of nine she was already a talented piano student. By the time she reached adulthood she was a professional-quality, classical pianist who could also play the popular music of the day. The most valued gift she ever received from her husband was a baby grand piano that remains in the family, even now. One of my fondest memories is of being quite small and falling asleep on her sofa while she played Brahms' Lullaby. She and her husband had two daughters and two sons; soprano, contralto, tenor and baritone. Bert played saxophone and banjo and everybody sang. In fact, as time went on, her grandchildren sang, too.
My grandmother came from a long line of strong, independent women. She had an indomitable will. Her youngest child was born 2 months premature in 1931. He was supposed to die, but she refused to let him go. She made an incubator out of a baby buggy and showered him with lavish care, giving him time to develop his lungs and grow. He lived to be 66 years old. Later on she raised two of her granddaughters following one son's divorce.
A botched ear surgery done when she was 32, caused deafness in one ear and paralysis on that side of her face. Imagine the misfortune for a master musician! Her husband died at work when she was 36 leaving her with four children, the youngest of whom was eight. She refused to allow her children to be taken from her and split up. My mother remembered her working all day then coming home and canning food into the wee hours of the morning. But she kept her family intact and never felt sorry for herself. She established a career in management at Sears Roebuck Co., when women were simply not managers. She excelled at the work and remained with the company until her retirement in the 1960s.
She loved playing cards with the family. I wish I had a nickel for every time she whupped me at Hearts. (I think I could pay off my house.) She once took several of us to an amusement park for the day. We collapsed and fell asleep in the car while she drove us home. She moved to Florida when she retired. For years she practically had a revolving door as one family member after another made the trip to Sarasota. No matter what time we got into town, she would have a Sara Lee coffeecake warming in the oven. She made the best fried chicken the world has ever known. Despite her habit of dressing up and well with matching bag, gloves and hat, she wasn't afraid to take off her shoes and socks and roll up her pant legs to walk in the surf at the beach.
As she aged she developed crippling, rheumatoid arthritis and she gradually lost her eyesight. She was not a religious woman and she had a real horror of losing her independence. We went to visit her in Florida in the summer of 1982 right after our second child was born. She couldn't hold him in her arms. She told me she wasn't good for much anymore. I told her she was the best grandmother in the world and that's all she had to be good for. She replied, "Honey, being in constant pain and total darkness is not really living." She believed that. When she was no longer able to care for herself she chose to not be a burden on her family and ended her life. She's been gone 30 + years. It seems like yesterday we were sitting at her table playing Hearts.
© Tina Brown
This biography may not be reproduced or reprinted in any fashion without written permission from the author.
My grandmother came from a long line of strong, independent women. She had an indomitable will. Her youngest child was born 2 months premature in 1931. He was supposed to die, but she refused to let him go. She made an incubator out of a baby buggy and showered him with lavish care, giving him time to develop his lungs and grow. He lived to be 66 years old. Later on she raised two of her granddaughters following one son's divorce.
A botched ear surgery done when she was 32, caused deafness in one ear and paralysis on that side of her face. Imagine the misfortune for a master musician! Her husband died at work when she was 36 leaving her with four children, the youngest of whom was eight. She refused to allow her children to be taken from her and split up. My mother remembered her working all day then coming home and canning food into the wee hours of the morning. But she kept her family intact and never felt sorry for herself. She established a career in management at Sears Roebuck Co., when women were simply not managers. She excelled at the work and remained with the company until her retirement in the 1960s.
She loved playing cards with the family. I wish I had a nickel for every time she whupped me at Hearts. (I think I could pay off my house.) She once took several of us to an amusement park for the day. We collapsed and fell asleep in the car while she drove us home. She moved to Florida when she retired. For years she practically had a revolving door as one family member after another made the trip to Sarasota. No matter what time we got into town, she would have a Sara Lee coffeecake warming in the oven. She made the best fried chicken the world has ever known. Despite her habit of dressing up and well with matching bag, gloves and hat, she wasn't afraid to take off her shoes and socks and roll up her pant legs to walk in the surf at the beach.
As she aged she developed crippling, rheumatoid arthritis and she gradually lost her eyesight. She was not a religious woman and she had a real horror of losing her independence. We went to visit her in Florida in the summer of 1982 right after our second child was born. She couldn't hold him in her arms. She told me she wasn't good for much anymore. I told her she was the best grandmother in the world and that's all she had to be good for. She replied, "Honey, being in constant pain and total darkness is not really living." She believed that. When she was no longer able to care for herself she chose to not be a burden on her family and ended her life. She's been gone 30 + years. It seems like yesterday we were sitting at her table playing Hearts.
© Tina Brown
This biography may not be reproduced or reprinted in any fashion without written permission from the author.
She was the third child of Basil Clements and Edna Alice Wampler. She was always known by her middle name, Agnes. The two things central to her heart were family and music. She believed in excellence. By the age of nine she was already a talented piano student. By the time she reached adulthood she was a professional-quality, classical pianist who could also play the popular music of the day. The most valued gift she ever received from her husband was a baby grand piano that remains in the family, even now. One of my fondest memories is of being quite small and falling asleep on her sofa while she played Brahms' Lullaby. She and her husband had two daughters and two sons; soprano, contralto, tenor and baritone. Bert played saxophone and banjo and everybody sang. In fact, as time went on, her grandchildren sang, too.
My grandmother came from a long line of strong, independent women. She had an indomitable will. Her youngest child was born 2 months premature in 1931. He was supposed to die, but she refused to let him go. She made an incubator out of a baby buggy and showered him with lavish care, giving him time to develop his lungs and grow. He lived to be 66 years old. Later on she raised two of her granddaughters following one son's divorce.
A botched ear surgery done when she was 32, caused deafness in one ear and paralysis on that side of her face. Imagine the misfortune for a master musician! Her husband died at work when she was 36 leaving her with four children, the youngest of whom was eight. She refused to allow her children to be taken from her and split up. My mother remembered her working all day then coming home and canning food into the wee hours of the morning. But she kept her family intact and never felt sorry for herself. She established a career in management at Sears Roebuck Co., when women were simply not managers. She excelled at the work and remained with the company until her retirement in the 1960s.
She loved playing cards with the family. I wish I had a nickel for every time she whupped me at Hearts. (I think I could pay off my house.) She once took several of us to an amusement park for the day. We collapsed and fell asleep in the car while she drove us home. She moved to Florida when she retired. For years she practically had a revolving door as one family member after another made the trip to Sarasota. No matter what time we got into town, she would have a Sara Lee coffeecake warming in the oven. She made the best fried chicken the world has ever known. Despite her habit of dressing up and well with matching bag, gloves and hat, she wasn't afraid to take off her shoes and socks and roll up her pant legs to walk in the surf at the beach.
As she aged she developed crippling, rheumatoid arthritis and she gradually lost her eyesight. She was not a religious woman and she had a real horror of losing her independence. We went to visit her in Florida in the summer of 1982 right after our second child was born. She couldn't hold him in her arms. She told me she wasn't good for much anymore. I told her she was the best grandmother in the world and that's all she had to be good for. She replied, "Honey, being in constant pain and total darkness is not really living." She believed that. When she was no longer able to care for herself she chose to not be a burden on her family and ended her life. She's been gone 30 + years. It seems like yesterday we were sitting at her table playing Hearts.
© Tina Brown
This biography may not be reproduced or reprinted in any fashion without written permission from the author.
My grandmother came from a long line of strong, independent women. She had an indomitable will. Her youngest child was born 2 months premature in 1931. He was supposed to die, but she refused to let him go. She made an incubator out of a baby buggy and showered him with lavish care, giving him time to develop his lungs and grow. He lived to be 66 years old. Later on she raised two of her granddaughters following one son's divorce.
A botched ear surgery done when she was 32, caused deafness in one ear and paralysis on that side of her face. Imagine the misfortune for a master musician! Her husband died at work when she was 36 leaving her with four children, the youngest of whom was eight. She refused to allow her children to be taken from her and split up. My mother remembered her working all day then coming home and canning food into the wee hours of the morning. But she kept her family intact and never felt sorry for herself. She established a career in management at Sears Roebuck Co., when women were simply not managers. She excelled at the work and remained with the company until her retirement in the 1960s.
She loved playing cards with the family. I wish I had a nickel for every time she whupped me at Hearts. (I think I could pay off my house.) She once took several of us to an amusement park for the day. We collapsed and fell asleep in the car while she drove us home. She moved to Florida when she retired. For years she practically had a revolving door as one family member after another made the trip to Sarasota. No matter what time we got into town, she would have a Sara Lee coffeecake warming in the oven. She made the best fried chicken the world has ever known. Despite her habit of dressing up and well with matching bag, gloves and hat, she wasn't afraid to take off her shoes and socks and roll up her pant legs to walk in the surf at the beach.
As she aged she developed crippling, rheumatoid arthritis and she gradually lost her eyesight. She was not a religious woman and she had a real horror of losing her independence. We went to visit her in Florida in the summer of 1982 right after our second child was born. She couldn't hold him in her arms. She told me she wasn't good for much anymore. I told her she was the best grandmother in the world and that's all she had to be good for. She replied, "Honey, being in constant pain and total darkness is not really living." She believed that. When she was no longer able to care for herself she chose to not be a burden on her family and ended her life. She's been gone 30 + years. It seems like yesterday we were sitting at her table playing Hearts.
© Tina Brown
This biography may not be reproduced or reprinted in any fashion without written permission from the author.
Inscription
Zula Agnes Grayson
Beloved wife and mother
Sept. 10, 1904
January 25, 1984
