Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her. Proverbs 31:28

Annamae Nealey December 29, 1934 – September 15, 2024

It’s hard to gather the right words to express what an influence this lovely woman has had on our lives. I’ve only known her for about 14 years, but her touch has reached further back.

Pure and wholesome

Everything about her was so pure and wholesome.

She was not worldly-wise. She was always willing to give–either from her pantry or from her wallet. And look out, if you admitted to liking something, she’d remember and have it again in the future. (I never regretted letting her know I like coffee).

_{Gramma used to have a floral couch in her living room before upgrading to leather. And these were her white coffee cups and saucers. White is just so classy.}

When Chris was only 8 months old, she and Grampa took him–without any hesitation–into their own home and raised him as their own child. They formed him to be the man he is today. No doubt she showed him how to love, care for others, clean and bake (oh, yes), and whatever else.

Her heart in Haiti

I’ll always remember those days in Haiti when I’d help her prepare meals and cakes in the kitchen there for the teams. I felt she always “let her hair down” when we were there–and I loved seeing that side of her.

We drank lots of coffee together there.

We sat in the kitchen, sat at the dining tables, we sat out on the back or front porches. We sat a lot. And I listened a lot. Haiti was where her heart thrived, and she loved to share her experiences.

I like to think that I’ve elevated my kitchen game because of the time I spent with her there. From cutting cakes to dishing out an entree sans mess.

A Special Gallery

Above is one of my most favorite pictures of her. And now my heart is a puddle.

Gramma holding my oldest. I don’t remember much about this visit or when exactly it was… actually–it was around Mother’s Day. Chris and I had dedicated Caeden at church and when they came to visit we had a birthday cake for Grampa.

I still remember how I felt.

This classy lady is sitting at my dining room table, in our apartment, she’s just loving on my little boy. So sweet, you know? And then he spat up all over her beautiful cardigan, and she simply said, It’s okay without batting an eye. That made my heart just about burst because she did not get upset with my baby for messing up her nice clothes.

10/10 best memory of her. (That’s her in a nutshell). And I hope I can be so classy.

Baby Caeden’s first Christmas at Great-Gramma’s house.

Meeting her middle-namesake. Evvy is named after both of her great-grandmothers: Evelyn after my grandmother and Mae after Chris’s. Evelyn Mae. It was the perfect girl’s name.

One of our last Christmas visits to South Florida. We’re at La Carreta and she’s feeding Evvy some rice. So carefully.

Lil chickadee loves her rice!

What a queen.

(Chris and my wedding day, 2012).

I just love this shot. I remember thinking, These pictures are going to be treasures. And here we are.

She never liked getting pictures taken of herself. But I’m glad that we still took some. I think she didn’t mind so much when she had a chonky baby in hand.

Shortly after we heard the “final” news. Chris shared a thought he knows to be true: I bet when Grampa saw Gramma arrive in heaven he said, What took you so long?

And I’m sure she’d reply with a demure smile, Oh Bill.

It was hard watching them both decline, and so quickly. But can you imagine? They’re in heaven. They’re whole. And they’ve already seen our Savior. That, I kind of envy.