My Granny

After a two-week hiatus I’m back and I brought a friend with me to write today. This week’s theme is “live long”. I knew right away that I wanted to write about my granny, Jessie Ann (RITER) BATES, for this week’s theme. Then my niece Ashley said she wanted to co-write a blog post about Granny and I knew this was perfect timing. There are many stories that can be told about Granny but I LOVE LOVE LOVE that one of our youngest up-and-coming family members wanted to write about Granny so much that she spent part of her spring break doing it. That’s dedication and love! So here is our blog post. We hope you love it. Please feel free to leave your memories of Granny BATES in the comments section.

Jessie (Riter) Bates and Troy "Lum" Bates. — Jessie (Riter) Bates and Troy “Lum” Bates.

^^ Granny and Papa right around the time they were married.

Few, if any, of us remember Granny as she was in the pictures above. But we all remember how much we loved her. These are Ashley’s memories of Granny:

When I was little I would go to my great grandma’s house with my grandma.

My great grandma had dementia and we got to look after her. We would go

to garage sales and play Yahtzee. Sometimes I would go pick apples off of

her apple tree in her front yard. Some days we would visit Aunt Mae before

we went to Great Nanny’s house. My Nanny Kay and I would also go

shopping and help Great Nanny shower. I will never forget the horribly sad

day when she passed away at 100 years old.

Jessie (Riter) Bates and her great-granddaughter (my niece) Ashley Drake.

^^ Ashley and Granny.

Jessie (Riter) Bates at her 100th birthday party.

^^ Granny at her 100th birthday party. She always said she was going to live to be 100 years old.

I think Ashley captures Granny’s favorite pastimes perfectly. I also love that she said she “got” to look after Granny. Ashley already embodies the beautiful spirit of the BATES women who have always put family first and cared for their family members in all circumstances without complaint. She’s following a beautiful tradition of caregiving set by her parents, grandmother, great-grandmother, and great-great-grandmother. She also reflects the Christian spirit of caring for others. I’m so proud of her!

Here are a few more pictures of Granny for you to enjoy as you reflect on your own special memories of her.

My mom Kay, her parents - Troy "Lum" and Jessie (Riter) Bates-, and some of her siblings - Jerry, Mike, Troy, Dennis (?), Butch, and Paul. — My mom Kay, her parents – Troy “Lum” and Jessie (Riter) Bates-, and some of her siblings – Jerry, Mike, Troy, Dennis (?), Butch, and Paul.

^^ Granny with Papa and all her children except David and JD. (By the way Ashley, behind them is the apple tree I remember when I was growing up. Seems like Granny always had an apple tree.)