Today is the birthday of my dear departed grandmother, Rose Marie Henry. (July 1, 1916 - March 31, 1990) My grandma was remarkable in so many ways. • She saw the best in people— always— even when others couldn’t (this came easily for her) • She was generous with her time and resources. Over the course of my childhood and adult life, I’ve heard from scores of people who told me stories about my grandma. “She came to sit with me at the hospital for days on end when my son was sick.” “She went to the grocery for me once a week when I didn’t have a car.” “She cut coupons and gave me the ones she had left over.” “She tended to my garden when I was out of town.” “Rosie was a real friend.” • When my grandpa had a stroke in 1981, she shifted into yet another gear of commitment and sacrifice. Her once-strapping 6’3” husband (Purple Heart recipient from his Army service in WW2 and 40 year employee at General Motors) had been rendered paralyzed on the entire left side of his body. She loved this man so much and was so devoted to him, she took him to every doctor/therapist appointment (as she always had due to the fact that he was also a heart patient— heck, so was she), but the doctors’ appointments were ten fold now and she buckled down without missing a beat. On top of all that, she bought a Ford Econoline van, had it custom-built to accommodate his new physical challenges and she drove him coast to coast to see his family and “anything else he wanted to see.” She got him safely in and out of that van, into hotels, restaurants, museums, national parks, high school gymnasiums, recital halls, softball fields, funerals, weddings, the Grand Ole Opry... anywhere he wanted to go, she took him. And she never complained, not a single time. I was with them on one trip from their home in Arizona back to Kansas (I was 13 maybe?) and I recall Grandma getting Grandpa into a hotel bed somewhere near Albuquerque, after what had been a challenging day; mostly for her. You know what she said to him? “We had a good day, didn’t we Harold?” He replied, “We sure did, Rosie. We gave ‘em a run for their money.” They were married just shy of 50 years. Happy Birthday, Grandma. ❤️