Isabella Mason-Moyer

A tribute to grandma Isabella, ‘Izzy’:

A knitter, sports and music enthusiast, and realtor in the London area, Isabella Mason-Moyer gave birth to five girls in five years (Jennifer (Ted) and Candy (Jim), my mom Brenda, Wendy (Ray), and Nanci (Jeff, deceased)). Grandma Isabella was the core of our family: a sister to Iris (deceased), Ken, and Wynne; a grandmother to 8 grandchildren (Andy, Robbie, Adam, Amber, Jackie, Vickie, Bryn, and Reed (deceased); 3 “spoiled pooches” Ringo (d), Lucy, and Bosh (d), and cat, Sneakers (d); and 4 great-grandchildren (Tyler, Jordan, Kallie, and Ryan).
For the past five years, she lived at a long-term care home, “The Village of Glendale Crossing”, where she received 24-hour care for dementia. Grandma’s knitting united the family, and the community. Grandma was an avid knitter for her family and charity, and before she got sick, she knit between 6-12 pairs of mittens per-day, from baby-sizes to extra-large adult. She took great pleasure to fill boxes with rows and rows of variegated, and solid colour mittens that she donated to The Salvation Army, The Boys and Girls Club, a women’s, and men’s shelter in London.
In the winter, I got into the habit of carrying extra pairs of mittens in my back pack. One day when walking to meet my mom after school, I noticed that a homeless man was sitting on the cold ground beside a bus stop without any gloves or mittens. I gave him the warm mittens that I was wearing, and he smiled and thanked me.
Grandma and I had many wonderful visits, but my favourite memory is when we attended an art gallery crawl in 2005. Grandma read about the art crawl in the paper, and we decided to go together. It was a lot of fun, and we went to about five art galleries. We talked to some artists, and looked at paintings, drawings, sculptures, and the architecture of downtown London. As an artist, I felt present and connected to my grandma.
Grandma always spoke with great pride, about her hard-working daughters, sons-in-law, and grandchildren. Her daughters have all worked in the healthcare industry in various positions, from hospital administration, homecare assistance, nursing, laboratory technology, and healthcare innovation.
Grandma had dreams to become a medical doctor, and was eligible to attend the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry for pre-medicine, but situations changed and she chose to focus on raising a family. She enjoyed the piano, and buying homes in the late 1960s to renovate and sell. The weather forecast is important in the real estate industry, and grandma could calculate the difference between Fahrenheit and Celsius in her head. With her brother Ken, they relocated, and restored a house. Her own apartment was immaculate, and beautifully decorated. She enjoyed watering her pink petunias, and she grew cherry tomatoes on her patio.
Grandma would often ask me to massage her shoulders and temples while she watched TV. She had two televisions in her living room, and a radio: the TV on the left had a sports game on (usually baseball, basketball, or hockey), and the TV on the right was connected to her VCR that recorded a favourite show. She watched and listened while knitting, and the sports TV was muted, because she preferred listening to the perspective of the radio announcer.
As her health declined, at each visit over the five years, I know that it helped a great deal to do massage her temples and her forehead, more gently this time, because she closed her eyes and looked like she was feeling more relaxed. We talked to her, told her stories, and played her favourite music; she especially enjoyed listening to “The Fiddler on the Roof”.
Stories were used by my grandma to establish, maintain, and remember connections. She would often tell stories about her day, memories of good friends, or about her younger years, and the grandkids. She often got very excited about the stories she told, especially when they were funny. She made anyone who was listening, laugh even before the end of the story, because it was so funny to witness her excitement about it. Her stories were a joy at Christmastime, and she looked after the family with beautiful spreads of fruit, candies, and homemade peanut-butter balls.
Her hazel-green eyes would often open wide and twinkle as she batted her eyelashes. She mimicked the person in the story, and moved her arms and hips to convey their actions. Whenever it was time to say goodbye, she would open her eyes and arms wide, and say to me and my cousins, “Oh, mush, mush, mush, mushes”. Whoever was being hugged was taken away into a magical place filled with love and comfort for that moment.
On the Sunday before she passed, we had to leave for the train, and could feel that it was probably going to be the last time that we saw her. My eyes welled up, and I felt a deep desire to say thank-you to this beautiful, and kind lady who I was so fortunate to call my grandma Isabella. I did, and gave her a hug and kiss.
When grandma passed on Thursday June 2, 2016, I was on a lunch break and bought a hanging vase for our garden, along with some wooden panels to paint as gifts for my friends. In that moment, it felt like grandma was with me, and reminded me to look after our home, my health, and to volunteer. Her life was built on love for her family, hard work, and charity. The late Holocaust survivor and Psychiatrist, Dr. Viktor Frankl said that these are the qualities that define the meaning of one’s life, even when it can seem to be unbearable. Grandma knew this, and I wrote down what she once said to me, “sometimes adversity comes, and from it, sometimes new and better things happen”. I know from what grandma Isabella taught me, and my family, that I am fortunate to have had a grandma who gave so much, but expected so little in return. I will always love her, and remember these values that she taught me.

I love you forever, Grandma Isabella.
– Bryn Ludlow (granddaughter)

Izzy

May your soul and spirit soar
Expand your wings
Fly and be free
Another angel to watch over me
Peace and love xo

With love Nanci P.