Family InSeitz: Grandma Vermeer

Last weekend we made a trip to Iowa to celebrate the life of Grandma Vermeer. Grandma passed away on Monday, October 5. She was 96 and had lived a long and full life but it's still hard to say good bye to her. We have so many memories with Grandma and she will be missed! She's left a wonderful legacy she should be proud of!

The visitation was Friday night and the funeral was on Saturday. The service which Dad conducted was so nice; she would have loved it. Juliana gave a wonderful tribute to Grandma and we are so proud of her for standing up and sharing with everyone that was there.

Here is part of what Juliana shared:
We are here today to celebrate the faithful and vibrant life of Great Grandma Vermeer. What she would want us all to remember is this.: What is your only comfort in life and in death? That I am not my own but belong body and soul in life and in death to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil. He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from head without the will of my Father in heaven. In fact, all things must work together for my salvation. Because I belong to him, Christ, by his Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him. We know that Great Grandma prayed for us on a daily basis and along with Great Grandpa Vermeer laid a strong foundation of Faith for Generations to come. As a family, we are eternally grateful. We are also grateful for the laughter, delicious cookies and caramel corn, demonstrated work ethic, just out of reach pink peppermints on top of the fridge, and wise words that Great Grandma shared with us. Please allow me a few moments to share some collected memories from Great Grandma’s clan.

~No matter how big or small the accomplishment, if something nice happened Grandma would always make sure to send a card of congratulations and encouragement. (She just sent Maya a card in June for turning 5. Amazing!)

~Fresh green beans & raspberries from Grandma’s garden will always be legendary!

~Playing Rook, Dominoes, Sequence or one of the other games in the corner closet was a favorite evening pastime.

~Grandma was a meticulous seamstress. We all loved our name pillows and sock snakes.

~Coming down the steep stairs early in the morning, to find Grandma in her cozy
slippers and well worn bathrobe with Bible open and hands folded in prayer.

And so we celebrate this amazing lady – the way she lived, loved and cared for others so well.

*Thanks again to Juliana for sharing the tribute so eloquently at Grandma's service! We were all in tears.

I'm so thankful the girls were able to meet their Great Grandma. And although they probably won't remember her we'll have pictures to show them and stories to share with them about how wonderful she was!

Grandma holding Maya when she was about 6 months old.