Post a Tribute to your Grandmother in a comment below to share what you want the world to know about her.  Here are Tributes from Sarah and Jenny to inspire you:

My darling Grandmother; my Nana, died almost exactly a year ago, leaving a gaping hole in a family, who while spread physically across the world, are also tied together through our mutual love and respect for her. Losing her husband and soul mate at a young age, and being left with a farm and four children, she could have been forgiven for feeling sorry for herself. Suffering a debilitating stroke, also at such a young age, you might expect that she would have asked for more help. But no, Nana was a ‘chin up’ kind of woman; a champion at brushing herself off, standing up straight, putting some lipstick and blush on and getting on with things. She knew fine well that nobody likes a complainer, so saw little point in lamenting the negative, choosing to see the best in everyone; radiating positivity and a contagious enthusiasm for life. One of the most loyal, fair, honest and loveable women I will ever have the privilege of knowing, my Nana, and the memory of her, propel me to be a better person every day. I try to see people in their most positive light, as she did; give them the benefit of the doubt, as she did and fiercely love my family and my husband, as she did. I thank her, quietly, everyday for teaching me to be the kind of woman I want to be.

Sarah

Oh I have to tell you about Granny Kate! Sadly, she left when I was only 8 (back in the late 70s) but she was a warm hearted, funny woman who always had a grin on her face.

She used to babysit me. We’d watch the old variety shows that used to be on TV in the 70s, and she’d tell me all about the music halls. She told me how, if an act wasn’t good enough, everyone would boo and throw vegetables. So if someone came on the screen we didn’t like, we’d boo them and pretend to throw vegetables.

I also remember her doing the ironing for my Mum. Granny Kate would pick up my brother’s jockstrap hold it up and shout “Look! No bum! No bum!” which made me collapse in fits of giggles.

Granny Kate had 8 children who survived … I think there may have been one lost too, although my Mum won’t talk about it. She lived in Edinburgh, and my Grandad was a man with a temper on him. The family were very poor. As an adult, I can read history books and learn about what it was like for women raising a family in the 1930s and 40s. I realise Granny Kate would have had a hard life, yet she was still able to laugh and joke.

She was only in her late 60s when she left us. Cancer took her. I really wish she’d been around for a few more decades, but the memory of her is still strong in me today. love you, Granny! xxxx

Jenny