My Grandma’s birthday was this week.  She would have been 95 years old.  Our  extended family all remember her birthday, even though she’s been dead 20 years,  because…. well, because it’s Grandma Henrietta.

Henrietta Freida Sprunger Nussbaum.  Her name alone, rich with Swiss/German heritage, gives you a feel for the kind of person she was.  She even spoke Swiss because her grandparents were Swiss immigrants to America.

Her off spring are all fans of hers for reasons that no one else would likely remember her for. The way she would throw her head back as she laughed. The way she loved fun and adventure, endured difficulties with grace, and turned the simple things of life into something spectacular. We made wash line taffy with her, and she was the center of the fun times and lively conversation around her kitchen table.

Grandma made the most of her not so easy life, gave it her all, and tried to be the best at being herself that she could be.

Grandma Henrietta was one of my heroes.  She introduced me to the beauty of a sunrise. She inspired me to play the piano, and to love watching and naming the birds that came to her feeder. She became a real bedrock not only to me, but to our whole family. But more than that, she taught me by example to lean on the Solid Rock, trusting God through life’s ups and downs.

I was wondering this morning if she lived the kind of life that others outside of her family would remember her for many years later.  Many people live, and die, and then are hardly remembered by others after several years.

And I decided that yes, she did live a life that others would remember many years later.  And here’s why.

Whatever Grandma Henrietta did, she did it with gusto.

She was the head cook in the local high school cafeteria.  This was the day when school lunches were made on sight from scratch.  She wanted to give the kids something to look forward to, so once a week she and her crew would arrive very early to the kitchen and make cinnamon rolls for the entire high school.  All of the students and staff looked forward to that day.  I did too.  Not only for the cinnamon rolls, but I was proud of the fact that it was my grandma who was going over and above, pursuing excellence in her chosen profession, sacrificing for the sake of blessing others. I think there may still be kids who remember the cafeteria lady turning ordinary school meals into something special.

Another legacy she left was that of playing the pipe organ at church.  She was gifted musically. Never learned to read a note, but played amazing pieces all by ear.  Grandma Henrietta would play the prelude with excellence as all of the congregants gathered, and I was proud once again that the person playing such beautiful music was my very own grandma.

Reflecting on her life makes me think again that leaving a legacy has much  to do with serving others, doing small things with great love, using your gifts with excellence and passion and being the best you that you can be.  

I’m grateful for a heritage that includes a woman like Grandma Henrietta. Tomorrow is the birthday of one of Grandma’s daughters, my mother.  And I’m thinking about all of the ways  that she, too, has contributed to my life, and to making the world a better place.

How about you?  What parts of your heritage are you most grateful for?