A Death in the Family

It’s unusual for someone my age to have a living grandparent. I know that I was blessed to have so much time with my grandmother. She passed away today at age 98.

Grandma was always supportive of my interests. She knew I liked traveling to different states, so she gave me a collection of state quarters. I used to be a radio producer. One day when Grandma was working at Villeroy & Boch in Southampton, “60 Minutes” producer Don Hewitt came into the store. She told him that her grandson was a producer too. After I sent her a printout of blog posts that might interest her, she started telling people that I was a writer.

In the next few days I will be preparing to travel to Virginia for her funeral. I will also share some of my memories of Grandma. Before her hearing deteriorated, we used to have long phone conversations about topics as diverse as politics and the show “Lost.” When she came to visit us in Burbank on her 80th birthday, we took her sightseeing to places like the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and the Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace. I loved the way Grandma defended her favorite president and didn’t care whether anyone agreed with her or not.