Written By Celeste Shally

A few days ago Mike’s Grandma Trudy died at the age of 97 (nearly 98). I feel compelled to share with you about this woman I’ve known and loved for 35 years.

Grandma Trudy was a shining example of a woman devoted to loving and serving her family. Her claim to fame was her amazing cooking. In fact, for one of her milestone birthdays we created a cookbook of all her amazing recipes entitled “Trudy’s Treasures”. She once told me how much she delighted in preparing a “bountiful table” for those she loved. Unlike the rest of us, she ALWAYS had an answer for the question, “What’s for dinner?”

She thoughtfully prepared her menus to provide everyone their favorites. No matter the hour of our arrival to her home she would have blueberry muffins with cream cheese frosting, bran muffins WITH raisins, and fresh baked banana bread waiting on the counter for us. We would wake up to her deliciously famous and fluffy buttermilk pancakes with strawberries and a side of bacon. For lunch it was tuna salad and barbecue beef. And dinner was spaghetti with her homemade sauce, pork roast or pot roast. Always with mashed potatoes and homemade gravy and vegetables.

As a young bride, I sat in the kitchen with Grandma Trudy as she taught me how to cook and provided me recipes for our favorite foods. I remember waking up at 4am one Thanksgiving to get the tutorial on how to successfully prepare a turkey with all the fixings. Her stuffing recipe is my favorite.

Grandma was very frugal. She studied the grocery store sale papers to find the best deals, enjoyed shopping at multiple stores for all her groceries, and loved to tell everyone about the bargains she got. Grandma Trudy could not understand the desire to “go out” for ice cream when there was a perfectly good quart with all the fixings right there in her kitchen.

And although she was frugal, she was generous. She cherished the opportunity to bless her children and grandchildren according to their needs.

Grandma Trudy thoroughly enjoyed hearing the details of everyone’s lives no matter how mundane the detail. She was always thrilled to hear about what I was making for dinner or the household chores I had completed. She enjoyed listening to what the boys were up to and how work was going for Mike. She delighted in knowing the details of life so she could share in our happiness and commit to praying for the difficulties. And Grandma loved photographs. The walls of her home were filled with photo collages of her family. We enjoyed coming to Grandma’s house to see the latest addition.

Throughout her life, Grandma Trudy demonstrated her love for and trust in Jesus Christ. Her faith remained steadfast through suffering and grief. She had a collection of Bible verses she memorized at a young age and made it a practice to rehearse them so she could cling to the truth of God’s word anywhere, anytime.

She lived a life of faithful prayer. Her communication with God was reverent, formal, consistent, and powerful. One of her greatest gifts to me was the certainty I had she was praying for me. Her encouragement to me in the extremes of my life always pointed me to God’s faithfulness and His word.

When I think of Grandma, I will definitely think of her delicious food. But mostly I will think of the example she set of faithful, joyful service to her family. Her contentedness to relentlessly serve her family in seemingly small yet consistent ways over the span of her lifetime is a reminder to me of the high calling of motherhood. The impact she has had on me in my life is what I aspire to in how I serve my family day after day, year after year.

THAT is Trudy’s Treasure.

She will be greatly missed.

***My mom’s best friend shared this post on Facebook and knew Trudy. My mom probably did too. I always love reading stories of godly women who lived out biblical womanhood.

Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.
Proverbs 31:30,31

***Subscribe to my blog HERE