Great Grandma Byerly
Posted by Rachel
On Friday April 5th Dave’s Grandmother Carmella Byerly passed away. It was sudden in how fast her body quit on her, but not sudden in that we knew she had been declining for several months now. For the past 6 months or so his Grandma had been in and out of the hospital for various problems and had problems maintaining a body weight. She had been down to 76 lbs at one point. Abby weighs almost as much as she did. On Wednesday April 3rd she went to the hospital due to a bloody nose she could not get stopped. They got it stopped and were going to send her home, but she insisted she didn’t feel right. By the end of that day she was in ICU and her body seemed to be shutting down. My father-in-law then received a call at 4 am Friday morning saying he should come be with her and later that morning she passed.
It is really too bad we can’t save the mind when the body stops working. Her mind was sharp as a tack and she was herself all the way to the end. I remember when my Grandmother was in her final months she was not all there. I can remember sitting with her and all she would do was moan and sing for God to take her home. Her body didn’t want to give up even though her mind was not with us any longer.
She moved back to this area several years ago so we have been able to spend birthdays and holidays with her. It was so wonderful that my children and I were given the opportunity to get to know her. She was an amazing person. She had so much love to give.
I’m not sure how much Zach really understands what is going on, but Abby has been very curious about death. This was the first person she has really known that has died. She has been asking many questions about death; where our body goes and where are spirit goes. She is comforted by knowing that Great Grandma is with God. She has said that she believes in God and will get to be in heaven with her too. She was also very curious about the viewing and seeing Great Grandma’s body. She did not seem afraid by it at all and I think it was good for her to see and have closure. Zach said that she looked like Sleeping Beauty.
Here are some pictures of her from the past several years of the many family times we had with her. Love you and miss you.
Family reunion 2007:
Sisters Carmella and Josie:
Birthdays with Great Grandma:
Zach’s 1st Birthday:
Dorian and Lydia’s Birthday 2011:
Zach’s 2nd Birthday:
Lydia’s Christening:
Caren’s Wedding:
Other family photos:
It’s great to see the pictures of Dave’s Grandma. I recently looked back on my pictures of her too from Abby and Zach’s birthday parties and your wedding. She was a lovely lady and will be truly missed!
The pictures are great.
She was the best mother, grandmother and great grandmother in the world. She will always be in my heart, I miss her so much already.