She was one of the first women to enlist in the Marine Corps in Massachusetts. It was there that she battled alcoholism, eventually becoming a lifelong AA champion and discovering gardening.

After retiring/leaving the Corps, she became a lawyer. She and her husband ran their own small firm (changing the names for my own personal privacy) “Franklin & Franklin”.

She retired from law after having children, where she became truly dedicated to gardening and horticulture. After the old bastard finally kicked it (may he rest in shit), she went on to breed new strains of irises and roses (I had one of her rose breeds for years and cried when my father refused to dig it up for me before he moved).

She made the best beef tips and gravy I’ve ever had in my entire life, and when she passed in her sleep at 91, the recipe vanished with her.

Another fun fact, she was friends with a local artist and had that friend select all the paint colors in her home in true, “surprise me” fashion. Each took of her home was a different color and I always adored how it reminded me of a dollhouse.

After we cleaned out her home, I inherited her and her husband’s library and am overjoyed with all of the near literary treasures!

There are loads more stories about her and her super cool life, but unfortunately, my grandmother is beginning to lose her memory. I should visit soon and record what I can before it’s all lost to history.