Ellen Valim

Today I went to my grandmother's funeral...my dad's mother, Ellen Ann Valim, who died at the age of 91. "Nana" was a very sweet woman...tiny and petite but strong and quick witted right up until the end. She worked full time as a nurse at a time when almost no women worked. She suffered the loss of her son, she had to have her leg amputated four years ago, and yet she continued to find joy in life.

My brother and I drove up to Chico for the funeral (my sister and mother drove up in a different car), and Andrew very nicely took a day off of work to watch the monkeys. It was very nice to see the Valim side of the family (and to see that they are all doing well and happy) since we see them so rarely. The funeral was a nice celebration of her life, but it also made me sad. Sad because I probably wasn't a very good granddaughter and I didn't see Nana much after my father died. Sad because it made me miss my dad so much I ached.