Tributes

My Mother-in-law. These words often start a rant as to how MIL’s make one’s life dismal. Well, I am one of the lucky ones whose life was deeply enriched by my MIL. Words can hardly describe Ginger’s presence and personality but here are a few.

Caring . . . Joyful . . . Nurturing . . . Thoughtful . . . Charming . . . Intelligent . . . Strong character . . . Fun . . . Coconut cream pie (OMG – that coconut cream pie) . . . Reliable . . . Kind . . . Independent . . . Honest . . . Wise . . .Gracious . . . Warm spirit . . . Hugs (the best hugs ever),

I am quite fortunate. Not only do I have the most wonderful wife, but she brought the most wonderful mother-in-law, a very special person, into my life.

“That" Frank

To think of one incident to remember is impossible. Our families were so intertwined. I have known and loved my aunt Ginger every day of my life. She was always there and so important to my Dad and loved by my mother. (She felt very accepted into the family, especially close to Ginger). We had so much fun during holidays. Bob and Shorty often faced the fierce team of Chuck, Arlie, and me in a rousing game of football or baseball. Wonderful memories of childhood and the joy of getting to visit as an adult are special. Loved to hear her tell us about our history. Such special times. AND the lady could cook. Her potato salad is the best I’ve ever eaten.

Rest In Peace, Special Lady.

Linda

I was 3 years old when my family and I moved to the farm near Bluff Dale. One morning our closest neighbor came to welcome us and brought her daughter, Dian. That was what neighbors did back then. This was the beginning of a very special friendship, not only for Dian and me, but also for our moms. Little did I know that Mrs. Garrett would come to mean so much to me in the latter years.

Dian and I were inseparable growing up except for the two times they moved away for her Dad’s job. I made their house my second home and Mrs. Garrett didn’t seem to mind. She, as I remember, was always working, always had supper on the table as soon as Mr. Garrett came home from work. She, by the way, was an outstanding cook. It was like clockwork. She ran a huge chicken house behind their home for a while, was always doing what housewives do and enjoyed it. She also began a job at a sewing factory and made Dian the most beautiful clothes.

After my mom passed almost fifteen years ago, our relationship really became closer. She was the link to my mom for me. So, even though I still call her Mrs. Garrett today, she had become like a “mom” to me.

She was always ready to give a listening ear and shoulder to cry on or just sit and chat about the “good old days “. I loved listening to her talk and the stories she told. She was such a delight. She talked about her family of long ago and of today. You could hear the admiration and love she had for them coming through. She really loved her family as all good moms do. Mrs. Garrett was always consistent and never wavering on things.

The last time I saw her was at the emergency room after her fall. She was doing well, not in much pain she told me, but so upset over her falling. She said the only fear she had was of falling. It was as though she expected more of herself, not to fall, not taking into account she was 102 years old. Mrs. Garrett was a remarkable woman, a fighter and strong willed, but also, so loving.

I love the photo Debby took, a fantastic and beautiful picture of her looking up at the sky. That captured an image of her that in my heart, told me that she was saying, “ I’m ready to go home.”

That photo touched me so deeply. It was easier for me to let go and I was happy for her. This dear sweet lady was truly a blessing in my life and I will miss her.

Karla

When I married Bob, fifty-five years ago I was somewhat of a city girl after living in Dublin and Stephenville. Going to the home place was just like heaven for me.

Being from the city, I learned a lot watching Ginger pampering all of her family with her best home cooking fresh from the garden. Ginger knew how much I loved the garden vegetables and had extra, so she told Lee to teach me how to can green beans and pickle beets one Saturday while she worked. He told me what to do and I did it and loved it. She was famous for her coconut cream pie and homemade rolls. I have thought to this day Ginger was the best cook in the world.

Ginger and Lee treated me like a daughter and helped me with my children all of their lives. She was the sweetest mother-in-law in the world to me. All her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren just adored her as you can tell by the smile on their faces in pictures with her.

After my mother, Meme, died twelve years ago she really became my mother even though I always called her Ginger. We would talk on the telephone planning parties and checking up on the family. She always told me she loved and needed me in the last years of her life. Our last words when we talked each time were that we loved each other.

Carol

Ginger was an amazing Grandmother and Great Grandmother to our family. She always made us feel like an important part of her family. Her strength was being able to make you feel like you were the most important person to her and her face would always light up when she saw us. She loved to talk to us about camping and the Mavericks--I still can't believe we gave our 100 year old Grandmother a Dirk Nowitski jersey for Christmas ... and she loved it. But of course even if she didn't love it, we would have never known because that's just the kind of person she was to us.

We will miss her dearly.

Ryan, Jeanna, Brady and Leah

These days, I love to bike in the late afternoons here in Colorado. The soft light, the streams, wildflowers, and the green of the grass and trees is an instant comfort to me. There is one place in particular I bike past that reminds me of Texas. It is an area that was settled in the late 1800s and is about a 15 minute bike ride from my house. It has a large field, old barns and farmland that still grows crops. It was a stage coach stop and farm back then and makes me think of Bluff Dale. I get that sensation of when I played as a child at dusk, stretching the day as long as I could before we were called in.

Part of these memories were the times we would spend as kids at my aunts and uncles houses, including Ginger and Lee's house. I remember the long driveway to their house, the giant tree on the left side as we drove up, the screened in porch, the chickens and chicken house. Dancing the twist and talking about the group the Monkeys with my sister, Dian and Patti. Running around the yard and the inside of the house where I remember the cots in the screened-in-porch, riding to the house on the schools bus where Karla would be dropped off across the street. At that time I didn't think much about the adults. They were just there, keeping you fed and happy.

It really wasn't until I was in my teens that I really began to appreciate Ginger, Lee and all the others. Moving away and living in an urban area made me really miss the country sense of community, family ties and home cooked food we had at family gatherings. But, what a great start in life I had with my parents, these cousins, aunts and uncles! As all my older family members started to pass, it became even more obvious how strong the women in the family were, until only Ginger was left. Just like I did with my mom, I thought Ginger would just keep going because she was so strong. The fact that she could break a hip, have surgery and start healing at 102 is something most people in their 80s cannot do. I knew my chance to connect again was limited so I began to write her a card each week. This was probably just as helpful for me as it was for her because it was my chance to thank her and all the others for the wonderful family ties and memories we made. She is gone, gone to join all the others so I wave hello from my bike in the countryside of Colorado!

So many special memories flood my mind of my grandmother. My brothers and I were staying with Granny and Papa. We loved visiting there and I remember how excited I would get when we would pass telephone poles then the small train bridge meaning we were almost there. Our parents had to tell us to look for these markers so we would stop constantly asking are we there yet?

The one memory I’m sharing is a simple one but means so much to me. One of my earliest childhood memories I can remember in life. I was young maybe around 5 years old, I was laying my head in her lap and she was gently brushing my hair, holding me and softly talking to me telling me she loved me with sounds of the train passing by in the background. I think maybe I was sad or crying about something, I don’t know, but I will never forget the way she made me feel so cared for and loved. She always made me feel that way when I was with her. She was that way, she gave comfort and made everyone feel special and loved. The sound of a train still comforts my soul and makes me think of her and PaPa.

❤️ Callie

I think the last visit Trent had with Granny underscores the amazing grit and humor that she had to the very end. Trent said that as he was visiting with her, he was hoping to say something that would spark a reason for her to hold on, to keep living. He said they’d been talking about the pies she used to make for him when he was a little boy and how much he loved them. She said her pie making days had been over a long time ago. Trent teased her, “If you loved me, you’d make me a pie,” to which she answered, “If you loved me, you wouldn’t ask me to.” I love that. Mary Virginia Davis Garrett was obviously a woman who knew her mind and spoke it, though with a quiet spirit that belied her determination.

My perception of her is as the even-keeled, soft-spoken matriarch of the Garrett clan who loved her family well. She was industrious, working in and out of the home to provide not just food, but delicious meals; to keep not just a clean house, but a safe, warm place to call home; to train and encourage her children (and grandchildren) not just how to do things, but how to ask questions. She helped each find his or her own way and taught them to love unconditionally. She did this as much by the way she lived, always with integrity and humor, as by the words she said.

I came into the Garrett clan after Lee passed away, so I didn’t witness the interaction between Ginger and him, but I have often reflected on Ginger’s quiet but strong spirit. She knew her mind, but women born in her day were discouraged from speaking it, especially if it differed from the opinions of the men around her. I think about the self-control Ginger had to exercise all her life. I imagine that perhaps early in their marriage there may have been some fiery conversations between the two of them, but knowing the woman she was in her later years, I imagine Ginger understood that it was more important to keep peace in her marriage than to win an argument. I also like to imagine that Ginger, as quick-witted as she was to the very end, would have discovered that it was easier, and met with greater success, to plant the seeds of an idea and make suggestions in a way that kept Lee’s pride intact, rather than insist on her own way. In this way, she’s been an example not only to her own children and grandchildren, but to those of us lucky enough to have joined the family, and really, to anyone who came to know her. I feel very fortunate to have married one of the grandchildren she loved so unconditionally; I know that he is the man he is today because of that love. I also feel gratitude that I have been able to learn from her example of what family is and what family does.

Michelle

It was wonderful to be a part of Granny G's extended family . . . a woman who lived life so fully with vigor and grace. Ginger was still walking a mile a day in her 90’s, and selecting restaurants based on their ability to make good margaritas. I would brag about her to anyone who would listen.

Each time we were fortunate enough to visit, her face would light up when we would walk in the door. Recently, we had the opportunity to visit for an afternoon as she told stories of meeting her husband and even had an anecdote about a family member during the Civil War period; we were in awe, listening intently. It was amazing that she could remember all of those stories! Jacob always knew what age “Granny G” was when anyone spoke of an historical event – it was endearing.

She was always in good spirits, happy, and thoughtful (always making time to send Jacob a birthday card). Our family’s memory of a loving woman who lived to be 102 with sound mind and body is an inspiration to us every day.

Much Love,

Jennifer/Bobby/Jacob

It’s impossible to express all that my precious mother-in-law, Ginger Garrett, meant to me. What a woman… she still inspires me every day.

Mary Virginia “Ginger” Davis Garrett was born in Erath County, Texas, on June 13, 1917. At the tender age of six, her world was turned upside down when her mother died following childbirth, and her grieving family was faced with a heartbreaking dilemma. Ultimately, Ginger and her two younger brothers were raised by their father and paternal grandmother, and her newborn twin sisters were raised by their maternal grandparents.

Ten year old Ginger learned to drive a Model T, beginning a lifelong love of driving. After high school graduation and one year at Tarleton College, she married Lee Arthur Garrett, a handsome young man from a neighboring community. Soon after, WWII broke out, she and Lee moved to Los Angeles to work for Lockheed Defense plant. As “Rosie the Riveter,” her job was wrapping colored tape around aircraft hydraulic tubing, and her co-workers nicknamed her “Tex.” She loved the CA life, with its climate, beautiful beaches, bountiful fruit crops, and apartment living. Ginger had an adventurous spirit, and she often recalled this as one of the happiest times of her life. She said she would have happily stayed there or thrown a dart toward a map and moved wherever it landed!

Lee had always dreamed of owning a farm, so after the war, they returned to Erath County, bought that farm, and Lee went to work for Lockheed in Fort Worth. On his days off, he built a home with all the modern conveniences for their growing family. Meanwhile, Ginger tended thousands of chickens for their egg business, drove a tractor, grew beautiful flowers, fruits and vegetables, cooked three meals a day, had supper on the table at 5 sharp, and, oh yes, somehow found time to have four children along the way!

At the age of 98, she was once again an example for me when her youngest son, my late husband Arlie, passed away unexpectedly. She showed me that when life deals you a hard blow, you do what you have to do, and carry on.

For her 102nd birthday, we had a family party at Joe T Garcia’s, and yes, she had a Margarita! At 102, she was still a word puzzle enthusiast, kept up with current events, and loved watching football, golf, & baseball. Sharp as a tack, she had a better memory than most people half her age, and continued to live by herself by her own choice. She was independent, loving, never demanding, and one of the most resilient people I have ever known. When the power went off one Friday night during her beloved Stephenville High School Yellow Jacket football game radio broadcast, she listened to it on her car radio!

“Re.sil.ience – Mary Virginia “Ginger” Davis Garrett… Toughness and the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties.”

Ginger, you were the best mother-in-law in the world, with your quiet strength, independence, determination and unconditional love of family.

Thank you for being one of the greatest examples in my life, I will always love and appreciate you… Debby

Daddy’s Top Hand

It seemed ever spring

When we cut and branded Top Hand could rope

Before it was over As well as brand and cook

We’s always short-handed And when my Dad got too rough

Straighten him out with a look

For help we had

My Dad and my brothers Top Hand could figure

Me and some townies Paid all the bills

And a couple of others And in a tight pinch

Could fix the windmills

We had a Top Hand

That really would work I asked my Dad

No matter how rough the job When the chips were down

This puncher wouldn’t shirk Just what he did

To keep his Top Hand around

All of the horses

That Top Hand couldn’t ride Well he pushed back his hat

Must of foundered And said with a grin

Or got old and died I tell your Mother I love her

Ever now and a’gin

Chuck

When I think of my Mother, I am so thankful I was her daughter. I am filled with gratitude for the sacrifices she made, the lessons she taught, the example she set and the unconditional love she gave.

She taught me to behave like a lady but said it was ok to climb trees
She never told me I could not do something because I “was a girl”— instead she told me I could be and do anything
She had an inquisitive and intelligent mind and taught me to think
She instilled a love of reading and constantly emphasized the importance of education
She lived her life by the Golden Rule....do unto others..... and expected the same from her children
She was kind and would not tolerate others being unkind — teaching me as a pre-teen the importance of an apology
She spent HOURS making my clothes, starching my drill team petticoat and curling my hair, showing me how to be selfless in expressing one’s love
She taught me that hard work builds character
And...she came to appreciate, respect and totally love “that Frank”

She continued to teach by example —strong, independent, appreciative, loving—until the day she quietly left us. I am humbled by her life and the sacrifices she made to give her family a better life. When faced with a problem and the need to decide which path to take, I hope I always remember to ask myself....”what would Mother do"?....and strive to be worthy of being my Mother’s daughter.

Dian

Now and at other times when thinking of Mother, my thoughts often return to my early childhood when she was the center of my universe. Before I could read, she would always read the Sunday morning "Funny Papers" to me. Comic strips such as "Mutt & Jeff", "Snuffy Smith" and "Dagwood & Blondie" to name a few. I would look at the pictures as she "voice acted" each character's part. Sounded right to me. I remember her singing to me the ballad of "Little Joe the Wrangler". I would cry every time but I always wanted to hear it. I later learned that Mother could not "carry a tune in a bucket" but it sounded wonderful to me.

When I was six years old, I contracted Rheumatic fever. On doctor’s orders I had to stay in bed for three months. Three months to a six year old is an eternity. Since I felt well, how she kept me in bed for that long is still a mystery especially living on a farm with no modern conveniences, no TV, not to mention my three and two year old brothers. However, she found time to read to me, play games & cards and the like to help me pass the time.

These are memories that I have grown to appreciate more over time. Although I have countless other memories of her and her remarkable life these and a few others come flooding back to me.

We were fortunate to have her with us and in good health for as long as we did. Although we will miss her very much, I believe soon, if not now, that memories of her will bring smiles to our faces rather than tears to our eyes.

We love you Mom.

Bob