A Tribute to

May 25th, 1929   -  December 30, 2003

With a very sad heart I have to tell you that our beloved GG, Grannie Grace Guderjahn, passed away December 30, 2003. She has been a vital part of our guidance for more than a decade, serving as Director and our Chairwoman for 3 years. Many of us have been "sent to our rooms" by Grannie when we got a little too exuberant and carried away, all in good natured fun. We will all miss, but not forget our Grannie. We want to do something to commemorate her undying love for Rotary and especially for ICUFR.

Would you all please email me any ideas or tributes you may have at ccardey@verizon.net.

Grace "Grannie" Guderjahn Biography

It was a dark and stormy night when she first saw the light of day on May 25th, 1929, in Cincinnati ,Ohio. She was the first child born to Nannie and Cecil McClave. She was named after her Grandmother, Grace Ellis, and spent many happy summers with her as a child.

I had a rather lonely childhood. I had and still have eczema. It is not contagious but very unsightly and was the cause of many heartaches as I was growing up. I remember my 10th birthday party. I had just spent 10 weeks in the hospital and one of the treatments was to cut off all my hair so that ointments could be applied directly to the scalp. I was glad to be home and looking forward to the party and to going back to school. Mother sent out the invitations and everything was planned. A few friends said they could not come but others said nothing at all. The day of the party only one girl came. The others were afraid of "catching" my eczema. Starting back to school was a nightmare. You can guess the reaction my almost baled head caused in my 4th grade class. [more...]

Friends:

It's been such a difficult time for my family these last few weeks. Losing my mom was so hard, and at times, such a lonely process. But keeping in contact with Carl and reading the beautiful notes you all sent to my father, and to each other, has made this journey somehow easier to bear.

I want to thank ALL you from the bottom of my heart for the generosity you have expressed in your donations. But in addition, I'd like to thank each of you for loving my Mom and being her good friends. She adored you so much; in fact, when we were in Hawaii, if I couldn't find her on the patio by the pool, I knew I could find her at her laptop, reading notes from her dear friends [and checking the stock market!].

I have had a lot of time in the last week to research my mom's life. I discovered new things, things she'd never told me, accomplishments she never bragged about, and photos of friends' faces I'd never seen before. It was a pleasure to uncover these things.

I knew her as my mom, one of my best friends, someone I could talk to about anything. I knew her as the one person I'd call after work, the woman who knew exactly what to say every time I had doubts about anything. She was the person who sent me a funny card when I was feeling sad, or send me a funny card just to tell me she loved me. I liked holding her hand when we sat together, hugging her, and making her laugh.

To me, she was the mom who adored all living things, who nurtured her garden and carefully protected the little guests there, such as the occasional nesting hummingbird or funny-looking lizard. She was the mom who sent me digital photos of the latest "cooky flower" or "silly cactus", or the handsome man she married. She was the mom who, when I sent her a favorite recipe, she'd send me one of hers right back. Or if I sent her a joke, she'd send one along that she'd enjoyed. She was the mom who would drop everything if I needed her, who would laugh at my stupid jokes, and who would tell me she loved me every time we talked. She was a wonderful, gorgeous, giving woman.

She often wrote about her favorite group of folks, her wonderful friends from all over the world in ICUFR. She loved visiting you all, and would often talk about her adventures to other countries. And I'm grateful that she had such a full and exciting life.

The time we all spent together in Hawaii this Thanksgiving is a treasure I will cherish for the rest of my life. And I wish I could hug each and every one of you today.

Thank you again, and God bless.
Cristal (Cristal Guderjahn, Graces daughter)
cguderja@cisco.com

ICUFR is going to donate $1,000 USD to Grannies favorite Rotary Project, "Thousand Smiles", which does free face reconstructive surgery in Mexico. If you would like to add a personal contribution, you can do so at our secure site: https://www.taranto.com/thousandsmiles.html