As Mom's short term memory faded, she would often ask, “Was I a good Mom”?  Knowing she just wanted an affirmation I would usually say yes, she was a good mom.  However, there were a few times when I would reflect, then jokingly suggest that maybe there was room for improvement.  Why did sister Peggy and I “run” away from home when I was about three?  I have no memory of this except for her often repeating the story of how she got a phone call (did we even have a phone then?) from our neighbor across the street asking if she knew where her kids were.  When assured that we were close by she was then informed that we were headed up the street all alone.  Then there was the day (likely the fall of my first grade) that she sent me to school on a day that was a school closure day of some kind.  After walking the several blocks to school I found the doors locked, and only one other first grader was there.  We wondered what to do, then went across the street to hang out under a truck bed set on 55 gallon drums.  After some time I decided to walk back home, only to discover that Mom had taken the girls and gone to work in the “grape patch”.  Maybe the doors at home were locked, but I found a neighbor lady who knew where Mom was and drove me out to be with them until work was done.  Mom may not have taught me much about philosophy or finances, but she taught me everything about love, honor, and sacrifice.  She modeled a loving relationship with both our dad and later with our stepdad.  She made sure we had good food to eat and clean clothes to wear.  She taught us about respect for others, and to take care of what we had.  She took us to church, and music lessons, and encouraged us to do our best.  She showed us how to not take ourselves too seriously, and to laugh.  Was she a good mom?  I say no… she was a GREAT mom.  We don't get to choose our mothers, but I feel blessed with the one I got.



Grandma Daisy. She wasn't actually my Grandma, but because of my childhood friendship with her granddaughter, Heather, she became like one whenever I was around her. 

I loved her smile! That smile and the twinkle in her eyes are what I remember most! She had a great sense of humor and she was so much fun to be around! 

Sabbath afternoon lunches at the Lee's home meant Grandma Daisy & Grandpa Bud and that meant lots of laughs and smiling and feeling the joy that is family.

Daisy will be very missed. I'm so sorry for your loss, Lee Family. I know what a treasure Grandma Daisy was to all of you.  You all are in my prayers and my thoughts.

Jamie summed it up nicely! Those are my favorite memories.  Her flowers gardens will always be a fond memory as well.

Grandmas memory was taken from her but her routines and phrases left memories for us that don't need much explaining:  

"Bertha....Gertrude"
Petunias
Drawings of faces and houses 
Dump and goobers
Ice cream
"Well...I look good"
Chinese checkers
Crossword puzzles
Perms
Gnomes
Fried zucchini
Wheel of fortune
Fashion shows
Hillcrest

When I think of my grandma Daisy, I remember so many things. She was ever present in my life growing up. A gift that I have always treasured over the years. Time is a precious gift and I got to share much of it with her.

My earliest memories of her were when I would get to stay overnight on Fridays with her before she married Grandpa Bud. Of snuggling and stories and of being asked to "please just lay still" when we went to bed. Of course this was often said several times and often led to giggles before actually going to sleep. I remember cuddling in her lap at church, drawing stick figures, folding paper fans and getting "face tickles" with her nails that I always thought looked so beautiful.

I remember things she taught me...times we shared...the way I always felt important to her and loved...her playful spirit and her laughter. You never felt unwelcome or unwanted at Grammys house as a child. Even though I am sure there were times we tested her patience severely, and even times she had to put us grandkids in line, she did it with love and she didn't have to do it often. We all loved being there. Time at Grandpa Bud and Grandma Daisy's house meant us cousins spending time with them and it was so much fun. She didn't have bunches of toys at her house but we were never bored. She encouraged us to use our imaginations, from the plain building blocks that grandpa Jim made, to drawing funny pictures, to making outfits from the dress up bag, to making snow ice cream, to making up stories...even weeding the garden was fun at grandmas! And of course no one will ever forget the battles of Chinese checkers, cousins swimming sessions at the pool, sledding down the hill behind her house on garbage bags, fashion shows she let us have every summer that made her and grandpa laugh, or Saturday nights spent it watching Hee Haw and the Lawrence Welk show while eating popcorn and fruit.

Grandma Daisy strove to teach us manners like the time I was caught sitting with my knees up at the dining room table. She informed me that she was sure that Princess Diana never sat at the table like that and that she expected the same manners from me at her table. I may have replied that I was no princess as I remember being excused from the table until I was ready to behave myself. I think of that moment and many others happy memories while sitting there in her dining room every time I sit at that very table with my own family.

Grandma was a hard worker. She taught me to be self sufficient and to take pride in the work that I did, even if it was just the chore of dishes. She worked long after 65 before finally retiring and also took care of her home and yard. I never remember going to Grammy's to find her house dirty or cluttered or the weeds overtaking the landscaping around their home. She canned and froze food for use during the winter. Lazy Daisy was certainly not a nickname that applied to her!

She showed me how to be resourceful and to not let life's curve balls defeat me. That lesson she learned in her own life and she wanted me to be prepared that life, though wonderful, wouldn't always be sunshine and rainbows...that the unexpected might rip the rug out from underneath me but that I could get back up again and keep going. She showed me that by her own example. And I never forgot that when life didn't go just the way I had planned it...

Grammy never seemed old to me. I don't recall hearing her complain about being tired or sick. She had a youthful and yes, mischievous, side to her that kept her young and vibrant. I can only hope to be as "young" as she was all her life.

SHE HUGGED. Real hugs. The kind that made you feel safe and warm and cared for. There wasn't too much that a Grammy hug couldn't make better.

Grandma Daisy was proud of her family and her grandkids. Not because we were perfect or better than anyone else but because we were hers and she loved us, imperfections and all.

Grammy taught me about true love and what it really means to love another person, good sides and bad together. About the beauty of second chances and about following my heart and believing in things even if others tried to make me change my mind with their opinions or judgmental attitudes.

There was nothing that I couldn't share with her, nothing that I couldn't talk to her about if I needed to...she had a listening ear when I was troubled or just needed to vent. Grammy laughed with me, she cried with me, she shared my joys, my celebrations and my not so great days...I will miss her the rest of mine.

This quote always reminded me of what Grandma Daisy was to me and all her grandchildren "A grandmother is a little bit parent a little bit teacher and a little bit best friend". And so she was...

Hi Ken, Karen, and the entire Lee Family,    So sorry for your loss,  Our thoughts and prayers are with your family. 
I just wanted to share with you some of my memories of Daisy.   She will be soooooooo missed!!!!!!!

Everyone has a favorite aunt.  Someone who makes them feel special.  That's my Aunt Daisy.  As a little girl I loved going to visit Aunt Daisy and Uncle Jim.  I loved their old house with the special vents that you could listen thru and hear the adult conversations down stairs.  Taking a bath in their claw footed bath tub.  Listening to the boys play their guitars. Drinking "mooses" milk, and hot jello. Being teased relentlessly.  Till this day I have never been able to make Ranch dressing taste like Aunt Daisy's, although she insists she just followed the directions on the pack.
Later on when she was dating Uncle Bud, she once told me that falling in love is not just for the young, and that there are many kinds of love.  Love for a mother and father, for a sibling, for a parter, and for a friend.  
There are so many good memories I have of Daisy and even though my children  barely remember meeting her they know her almost as well as if they were around her all their lives.  She is frequently referenced at the dinner table and in funny little stories. And they know that you better not ever touch her nose!
I will always love her and have the best memories ever and I can hardly wait to see her again in heaven where hopefully my children can really get to know my favorite aunt.

OBITUARY

Viola "Daisy" Ruth Moore

July 30, 1929 – August 16, 2014

Keith & Keith Funeral Home

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