I have to grandmothers: Grandma Pearl, my mother's mother and Grandma Witt, my father's mother. When I was born, my dad called his mother to announce my birth. She asked "Did you name her after me?" My dad spontaneously replied, "We sure did; Collette Elizabeth!" And this is how I got my middle name. My first name is Grandma Pearls last name: Collett.
Grandma Pearl wore pink pantsuits; Grandma Witt wore flowered dresses. Grandma Pearl grew roses; Grandma Witt grew vegetables. Grandma Pearl had a dog named Mickey who did tricks; Grandma Witt had a dog named Red who ran and ran. Grandma Pearl wore lots of jewelry; Grandma Witt wore none. Grandma Pearl collected dolls; Grandma Witt just had amazing knicknacks.
My Grandma Pearl's whole name is Pearl Angeline Dover. She was a musician. She played piano, learned to play the organ on THE organ in the tabernacle on temple square in SLC. She really wanted to play in the Utah Mormon Symphony, so she got an upright bass and went to rehearsals, where she watch someone play and learned. I believe it was the prophet Heber J Grant, who would excuse himself from whomever he was talking to to go lift his favorite bass player onto her stool so that she could reach the instrument. Grandma Pearl was refined, talented and always lovely. Her bathroom had lavendar powders and creams. She did all sorts of handiwork. She sewed. (She sewed my wedding dress...) She learned to paint and left us a legacy of paintings.
Grandma Witt was very different from Grandma Pearl. She was a farmer. She could grow beautiful gardens. She never had much, but could make do out of anything. She was funny. She could tell the funniest stories. She was a mother to Phyllis, my aunt with down's syndrome. She cared for Phyllis until she died. She wore flower dresses. I'm trying to remember if I ever saw her in a pair of pants. She could talk back to my dad, which was funny, because no one else could! We loved going with mom to take Grandma to the grocery store. We always stopped for an icecream cone before we went home. Her name is Mary Elizabeth Smith. Her second husband was a Witt and that is why we called her Grandma Witt. She always had bonbons in her bedroom, which we kids would search for when no one was watching us.
My grandmas were very different... I used to think of them as Beverly Hills and the Hillbilly... but I think now that I'm older, that they had many similarities. They both faced adversity head on. I never heard any complaining (other than health complaints) from them. They both had trials and difficult times. Both women loved their grandchildren deeply. Neither ever really doted on us, but we knew they loved us.
I miss my Grandmothers...
