Happy Birthday, Grandma Jan!

Janice Mary Yates was born on May 21, 1925 in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Later in life she moved to Chicago, Illinois where she lived until 1963, when she moved to Fresno, California. She is my Grandmother, and I was privileged to know her.

My Gram met my Grandpa, Robert John Blessing, (we call him Grandpa Birdie) in high school—they were sweethearts. She graduated from high school at the age of 16, and was engaged to be married. Then World War II interrupted plans, and she had to wait for the war to end and her sweetheart to return. Gram and Grandpa were married on March 30, 1946.

My Gram was always a working woman. She worked at a department store (Marshall Fields) before she got married, to accumulate things for her hope chest. During the war, she worked as a secretary in a Top Secret department for Northwest University. Later, she worked in the Hall of Records and then as the secretary to the City Manager. In 1963, my grandparents moved to Fresno to follow Grandpa Birdie's dream of owning a driving range—which ended up being a miniature golf course. In Fresno, Gram worked as a court clerk for a short while, and then she worked as the secretary for 4 Mayors. In my younger years (because I'm so OLD), my Gram was like a celebrity to me—she WAS the mayor's secretary, after all! I liked going downtown to see her at work and get my package of raisins. It was especially nice the times we could go to Gottschalk's and have a tapioca with whipped cream. She was the most famous person I knew!

When I think of my Grandmother, several words come to mind: fun, funny, music, patient, kind, loving, guileless, proper, fashionable, and enduring.

It was my privilege to live in the same town as my Grandparents my whole life, so I got to see them frequently. Whenever we'd spend the night at their house, Gram would serve us juice in special juice glasses. Holidays always came with traditions when Gram was involved. Halloween meant that Gram would dress up in her witch outfit, complete with crooked nose, and she would CACKLE as she'd answer the door. Christmas meant Christmas Eve at Gram's and hiding under/near the bed and pretending to be asleep so that Santa would come. Easter meant a frilly, beautiful dress. Summer meant BBQ's—and tuna macaroni salad (which NOBODY can make like Gram) and sometimes CHEESECAKE (also unique to Gram). Gram was the person who showed us how to skinny dip! She made sure all of the men stayed inside and then had her join us—what fun!

I remember one Christmas, sitting around the ROUND table at my Aunt Bonnie's. My sister, Aimee, told the joke: “How do you get an elephant out of a phone booth?” “Take the E out of elephant and the F out of way.” Gram must have said, “there's no F in way” a million times, and honestly didn't know why we were rolling on the floor laughing. She was so guileless that the joke had to be explained to her (and I'm not sure she thought it was so funny). To this day, I laugh out loud when I thing about that, “but there is no F in way......”

My Gram's best friend in the world was her sister, Phyllis. Phyllis moved to Fresno before Gram, and I think that's one of the reasons my grandparents moved to Fresno. Gram and Auntie Phyllis took me and Cousin John to BYU one summer—me for EFY and John for a football camp. The whole way there and back they laughed and hooted and talked about a book called Lake Woebegone Days and looked for Wayne Newton. They were certifiable when they were together—so silly!

Gram spent HOURS of a precious Saturday helping me learn how to make a 3-point turn in Grandpa's white truck. She was SO patient with me! I'm not exaggerating when I say it was HOURS. I think we spent the entire afternoon working on that—and I passed my driver's test, because I learned how to do it by practicing for hours and hours. Thanks Gram!

Gram had music in her life. She appreciated music. She played the piano, organ, bassoon, harpsichord, and other instruments—and she let us play her organ! I'm sure it was a sacrifice to allow us kiddos to play on her “baby.” Of course, we had music at many family gatherings—lots of singing. And we couldn't have Christmas without the CHIMES! When she wasn't playing the instruments, Gram was singing. She was well-known for several musical numbers that she performed countless times--always funny songs. Many of Gram's callings revolved around music—a true talent. She served about 50 years in music-related callings at Church.

My Gram is a great example of love. She LOVES Grandpa Birdie. I remember when she got mugged at the mall and had her purse stolen. She was more concerned about missing a picture of Grandpa in his Navy uniform than anything else--and she was moved to tears when it was returned to her. That's love in action. Sure she and Grandpa must have disagreed in 60+ years, but I never heard her yell or fight with Grandpa. She was a good example of the little things that make life more pleasant. Gram was patient too. She was so kind and patient with Grandma Ada (her Mom) when she had Alzheimer's. Gram didn't complain about having to repeat herself a million times, and although it must have been sad for her to watch her mother decline, Gram didn't give into self-pity. She enjoyed the time she did have to spend with her mother and the things they could still do together.

My Gram is a great example of being rock solid. She attended Church faithfully. She did her callings faithfully—I don't recall her complaining. She went to the Temple when she could. She was kind and loving, and she spoke kindly of others. Gram was not given to gossip and tried very hard to only say kind things about other people. This was always a good example to me. She didn't seem to hold a grudge. She was ALWAYS a good example of dressing nice and being proper. And it was through Gram that we girls had some of our nicest dresses. She was a perpetual shopper—sales ladies KNEW her! She always dressed so fashionably that my friends would comment--”That's your GRANDMA?” You wouldn't catch her using bad language or bad manners—ever. The closest she got to bad language was, “oh shed!” and that was usually in jest. She was always very active with her groups of friends-- GoGo Girls, Philharmonic friends, Bunko, etc. Gram has always been FUN—to watch or be around. And often, it was the watching that was fun. Even the last battle with cancer saw Gram pretty much in character—she endured without too much complaining, and still tried to dress up and look nice to attend the events she did attend. She tried to think about others and went to Church as LONG as possible. “Enduring to the end” is Gram personified, and I miss her!

It just seems fitting to pay tribute to such an Elect LADY on such a special day. I'm sure she's enjoying herself with my Auntie Phyllis, having a hooting Heavenly party today. And I'm sure she's the life of the party. Happy Birthday, Grandma Jan!