Grandma Koon

September 9, 1920 - August 29, 2011

She is so precious to me. And she has returned home to our Heavenly Father, just under 2 weeks shy of her 91st birthday. Our sweet Grandma Koon passed away this morning around 5:15am.

One of the last pictures of Rori and Granny Great together
(taken 5-28-11)

Taking a snooze on Granny Great

We were so fortunate to go up to Idaho yesterday to say goodbye to Grandma one last time. What a blessing!! It was so very hard to see her in the state she was in, but I'm so glad we had the opportunity to give her kisses and tell her we love her. She was really struggling with her breathing, she hadn't eaten anything since Friday morning (she had corn flakes for breakfast :), she really wasn't coherent yesterday, and she was just ready to go.

Four Generations
(taken 4-2-11)

I love that when I accidentally woke her up with a kiss on the forehead, she looked at me and when I told her it was Kiara, she said, "Hello, dear," and she told me she loved me. She also told Brianna that she loves her too. I'm not sure if those were the very last words she spoke, but they were close to it and that means so much to me.

Our family at Grandma's 90th birthday party last year
(taken 9-4-10)

It was incredibly difficult to see her body struggling, and she was so much worse than when we saw her just a two weeks ago. She has always been so strong and such a fighter. My Dad & Darwin were able to give her a priesthood blessing and gave her permission to return home to our Father in Heaven. With as much as we will all miss her, it is so comforting to know she is in a better place now and no longer in pain. I'm glad that she didn't hang around for too much longer after we were able to say goodbye, but I do feel sorry for my family members who live too far away that they were unable to give Grandma one last hug and kiss. I'm glad to know she is at peace now. Her funeral will be this weekend, and I'm sure that will be a struggle in and of itself emotionally, but I am so grateful for Grandma Koon and the life she has lived. She is an incredible example to me and I will miss her dearly but I feel so fortunate that we were able to spend some time with her on her last day on this earth. We love you, Grandma!!!