Today would be Nana's birthday. Zereda Fine Jensen was born in 1902 and passed away in 1996 at the age of 93. Her life was an example we can all live by.
I had the privelege of marrying into Nana's family. Although I only had 13 years with her in my life, I learned so much. She was smart, she was funny, she knew what she believed, she stood firm on what she believed, she was stubborn and she knew everything that was going on around her. She earned the nickname "Radar" from my father-in-law, nothing could get by Nana.
She grew up in our small valley, attended college and became a teacher of one room schoolhouses. She loved to cut wood, garden, be involved in community activities, stay involved with the ranch and be with her family. She was highly respected in our community. She stayed up on politics and important community issues. Everyone may not have agreed with her opinion, but they truly respected it. My husband has endless memories of his time with Nana.
I thank Nana for teaching me so much. Her example of standing for what you believe in provides a lot of motivation in my life. She would never complain about something she wasn't willing to get involved in. Things were very black and white to her and she knew how to work hard to get things done.
Happy Birthday Nana! We love you and miss you and thank you for the influence you have been in our lives!
I never had the honor of meeting Nana but over the years I felt like I got to know her. I was told so many story's of her sassy way it seems she and I would have gotten along just great.
ReplyDeleteThere were many times I went and sat on her grave unloading my issues on her and many times she lent me a shoulder to cry on. I miss my visits with her, it's been years but I can still remember sitting in the grass with Emma playing and the nice spring breeze sweeping through the pine trees......
Happy Birthday Nana<3