16 Sep 2017 Funky Frugal: Ma Sue’s legacy

by Tanner Cangelosi 

My grandmother recently passed away.  

My heart was broken. I wasn’t ready to let her go. She was ready though. She missed my cousin, Molly (who passed away two years ago at 19) and her sweetheart, Pa Will (they were married 63 years). 

She was the matriarch who loved to gather her family around her table. 

Her cooking was unmatched and I will always remember how she was never rushed in preparing the perfect meal. 

She would just cook a bit and then sit in her kitchen chair and talk a bit more.  

Ma Sue gave me my love for finding junk and giving it new life. 

Every time I went to her home to visit, she had something old that we would make a project out of over the next few days with painting and visiting in her kitchen. 

I wrote an article about a year ago about this same wonderful soul.

As we were in her home, getting ready for the service to celebrate her life, we found a journal she had kept over the last few years. 

It was filled with books she had read, funny comments, heartache and thoughts about her readings from the Bible. The pages were treasures. 

I took some pictures of the pages and turned them into black and white. I had Crossman Printing in Conway enlarge and print them. The three prints cost me around $5.  

After I received the prints, I found one canvas to paint white and then using Elmer’s glue, I pasted the large print on the canvas. Next, I found two wooden holders for my children’s toys and painted them white and pasted the notes on the backside of them.  

Finally, I hung them by my front door to give me a little perspective as I look at them each day. 

Her words remind me to hug my children a lot, take care in preparing meals for my family and to listen intently to friends sharing their hearts. 

She left quite a legacy.