The day before Thanksgiving, Gaga went home to heaven. She was so special to me and I miss her so much already! She was a part of my life for the last 14 years and I am so blessed by the time we spent together. She was so special to me and I felt like she and I always had a special bond. She always introduced me as her granddaughter, not her granddaughter-in-law. She loved telling stories and I loved hearing them. I can still picture her sitting there and closing her eyes to remember a small detail and then saying, "well, anyway" if she couldn't remember. She always saved articles for me to read during our next visit together and make sure to have special treats for the kids (a photo album, bracelet, cookies or candy).
She amazed me at her endless energy and determined attitude. I admired her kindness, thoughtfulness, friendliness, passion and strength. She helped start the Southwest Florida Gold Star Mothers Chapter in Naples and I know she touched so many lives. She made friends everywhere she went and I see a lot of her personality in Kate. I loved our recent tradition of visiting her and Aunt Linda on Memorial Day weekend and honoring Bobby's memory. It's hard to know I won't be able to talk to her or hug her again but I'm so thankful for all the memories we shared together.
There are so many pictures I have with Gaga over the years but these are a few of my favorites:
Kate meeting Gaga for the first time (October 2009)
Gaga introduced Scooby to Kate (December 2009)
Attending the Crews/Sapp family reunion in Lake Butler:
July 2011
July 2017
Justin and I took the kids by ourselves this past reunion (July 2018) and I hope we can continue to attend in the future to honor his grandparent's memory.
Christmas visit (December 2014).
December 2015
Memorial Day Weekend 2016:
One of my favorites of Gaga with Justin and the kids.
Memorial Day Weekend 2017:
One of my favorite pictures - just she and I!
Love this one too! They all look so happy!
One of my most favorite memories will be last Christmas (December 2017) when Gaga was the Grand Marshal in the Naples Christmas parade and the kids were able to ride with her and pass out candy. What a once in a lifetime opportunity!
Another favorite memory I will always have is attending the Teddy Bear Tea at the Ritz Carlton. Gaga had always talked about taking Kate and last Christmas we booked our reservation. I'm so thankful we did that together - it was worth every penny!
This past Memorial Day weekend (May 2018) was our last one together. It hurts knowing it won't be the same next year but it's memories with her that I will always cherish and hopefully we can attend again in the future to continue the tradition.
The Monday after Thanksgiving, we drove down to Naples to honor Gaga. It was a quick trip and always good to see friends and family but Naples will never be the same now without the grandparents.
The Rolling Thunder biker group escorted the hearse to the Naples Memorial Garden for the burial. Gaga had become close to several members due to her involvement with military events. It makes me smile that a 93 year old woman had a tight knit group of biker friends.
Sometimes the impromptu pictures are some of your favorites.
I love it - maybe it's because this was taken on the day we were honoring Gaga.
We love you and will miss you, Gaga! You will always have a special place in our hearts.
A local news article about Gaga's passing:
Gaga's Obituary: https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/naplesnews/obituary.aspx?n=carlynn-p-crews-polly&pid=190812999&fhid=8171
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