Goodbye Maw Maw

Last night, my grandmother passed away.

Juanita LeLeux Sullivan was my father's mother.   She was only a baby herself when she married my grandfather who was a single dad, with two small boys.   My Maw Maw was the only mother my dad ever knew. 

Her maiden name is LeLeux (pronouced: lulu) and yep…you guessed it.  She was from Louisiana, of the Cajun French variety.  Every so often, you could hear the Cajun accent in a phrase or word she would say.  Her cooking largely consisted of gravies and roux or smothered and fried.

She was a very shy woman and kept to herself most of the time.  Especially after her husband Tom (my grandfather) and her sister Ramona passed away.  

My Maw Maw had 5 children - 4 sons and 1 daughter; 10 Grandchildren and 28 (or so…I lose count) great grandchildren.

One of my favorite memories of my Maw Maw was that she would always make me coffee milk when I spent the night at their home.  I'm not sure how she did it, but it was always the best.  Not too hot, not to strong and just the right sweetness.  That was the only time I ever got to drink coffee as a kid.

One year for Christmas, she made me an entire traveling suitcase FULL of handmade Barbie clothes.  Gowns, Dresses, Pants, Shirts, Skirts, etc.    I LOVED those clothes and played with them non-stop.  I can't imagine the time and energy that went into making all of those clothes.

Another fond memory of my Maw Maw was that she followed the OJ Simpson trial from beginning to end.  When you'd go over to her house, she tell you EVERYTHING there was to know about the trial. In all actuality, she always watched the big trials that aired on television.  She was fascinated with them.  

She loathed having her picture taken. But, last year during Christmas, probably sensing it was going to one of the last Christmases with the entire family, she allowed everyone to have their picture taken with her.  Here is a picture of my brother and me with my Maw Maw, nearly a year ago.

Maw Maw, thank you for raising my dad to be one of the most AWESOME men I know.  

I love you and you will be missed!