48 Square Pastels

Ben Schone ~ Anna Vandeway

Tess Machlan ~ Rosie Machlan

Papa John ~ Mom

Grandpa ~ Grandma

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
::There is little I love as much as listening to people tell me their story. Having one’s own story is something that every single person on the planet has in common, they all have one and they all deserve the chance to share it. I think its a shame that the majority of the time it takes a person graduating to fame or dying before they become really interesting to others. Then again sometimes I imagine it takes a person until the last days of there life before they find themselves important enough to share about their life to others.
::This year, my family and I have had 4 individuals we love pass away. These things happen (and I don’t mean that in a flipant manor) although I prefer them to not happen so close in proximity to each other. But, God is a gracious and caring God and He’s been just as faithful during this time as in any other. As the grieving process has worked its way through each of us, and I imagine its still going to hang out with us for a while, one thing most recently thats accured to me is how self focused grieving can become for me. So, I decided that its better late than never, I’d like to redirect the focus to a postive light and I’ll give a little public honor to my loved ones who’ve gone on to a much better place.
::Here we go,

.:. John “Red” Ganley .:.
6 January 1927 – 11 January 2009
John Ganley is my Grandfather, on my mothers side. We all called him Papa, mostly becaues he thought that the term ‘grandpa’ made him sound to old:) He lived in Massachusetts my whole life, but nearly every year I saw him on a trip out there to visit family. Papa was a proud Irishman and a proud veteran to America. He served in the Army Air Corp in WW2, in fact he was part of the team that dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. Papa lived in Maine for a long time, he was on a first name basis with Steven King and he made Adirondike Furniture for a local General Store. He loved gardening all the way around. My mom used to tell me that if she wanted to spend real quality time with Papa as a kid, she’d go out in the garden with him after he got home from work. Guess that explains how she became a gardner..and that was passed on to me. One summer, Papa took the train out to Indiana to visit us. He came in time for the Grabill Country Fair so he decided to bake some Blueberry Muffins and enter them in the competition, in which he got a first place ribbon:) Papa’s Blueberry Muffins are what turned them into one of my favorite baked goods. Nothin’ better than a ‘hot-out-of-the-oven muffin’ with a glass of ice cold milk! Papa was a strong, Irishman up to the very end. He’s greatly missed, but even more greatly loved:0)

.:. Tess Machlan .:.
- – - 11 February 2009
Tess Machlan was an elderly friend of mine. She was born in New York with a strong German heritage. She grew up in Germany during some of her childhood, she’d tell me stories of being in Primary school and refusing to say ‘Heil Hitler’ as the teachers instructed. Tess was a really cool lady, she took me to Europe for three weeks when I was 18-that was a dream come true for me and I really treasure all the awesome memories created during that trip. She was an avid tandem bike rider, she’d go 20 miles in a day with her companion Joe. Tess had a lot of spunk, a lot of character and a wonderful heart. I’m so blessed that she was a part of my life and equally thrilled to say she was the lady that introduced me to the awesome European culture. I’m thankful that Jesus brought her Home so she no longer had to battle Cancer.

.:. Ben Schone .:.
18 July 1983 – 7 April 2009
Hmmm, Ben. This one is a difficult one to talk about…even explain. But I think its important to share what a blessing Ben was to me. Ben was one of my closest friends. He and I teamed up for a lot of free lance photography, hours spent drinking chia and editing pictures…with of course endless breaks in there to look at Muse videos on YouTube or to laugh our asses off at the newest comedian he’d found. Ben was the friend who I’d have a missed call from and I knew I had to wait to call him back until I had a good couple hours because we could never manage a short conversation. They’d start out with ‘hey!’ and after that I could kiss my cheap phone bill goodbye…and gladly so:0) He was super intelligent and passionate; creative and compassionate. He was in Colorado during my birthday so as my gift, he stole a rock from the Continental Divide and brought it home for me. Who does that? haha..Ben does. He was a really loyal friend, he stuck with me even when I couldn’t keep my head on straight. Encouraged me when I was dealing with a disgruntle client I’d done pictures for or lift me up when I was going through some really hard times. Ben was the friend that could come over and it didn’t feel like I had company over, it felt like I had another family member in the house. Aaah, I could go on and on about Ben. But I’m sure you get the picture by now. Or at least a glimps of the picture. Ben’s life and influence is one to be celebrated, one to be remembered. I won’t ever be able to forget him, I’m not interested in trying to either. Even when its hard to remember him. He was a blessing, a great work of Art on God’s part. He’s Home with no more sorrow or turmoil. He’s Home.

.:. Joy Vandeway .:.
24 February 1935 – 14 April 2009
Joy Vandeway was my Grandmother, on my dads side. Grandma was my first pen pal and the lady who instilled my love of letters the old fashioned way, or ‘Snail mail’ as its referred to now days. During my childhood, she lived in Seattle, Washington, but about 11 years ago her and Grandpa moved just a mile down the road from us. Although I definetly missed the bright colored envelopes addressed to me coming in the mail every week, it was pretty awesome having her just a bike ride away:0) She was incredibly creative and artistic. She dabbled in so many different mediums and helped greatly in nurturing my artistic inclinations. Her and I became pretty close friends over the last few years, I grew to consider her a ’safe place’ to go when I was having a hard time. I could be open and honest with her, knowing she wouldn’t judge me harshly and she’d let me get it all off my chest, encouraging me and giving me a fresh perspective on life. I was going through the box of letters from her that I’d saved all these years and I found that in nearly every one there was a picture she’d sent me asking me to color it for her and send it back to her. It’s funny the things I forget…I’d forgotten how much I tried to color inside the lines, shade just right and use rich and exciting colors to make the pictures really pop. All because I knew how much Grandma would like it. Here I am years later, still painting pictures bright and colorful, always wanting to explore what new shade of green or texture of blue I can come up with. Its just over a month since she passed away, I spend a lot of time with Grandpa now, visiting about days past and days to come…remember Grandma. He lives in a house full of reminders of her and I come home a my room each day with just a few reminders, threeof her boxes of 48 Square Pastels passed down to me. How fitting that my little inheritence from her would be art mediums. I’m yet again thankful for the time I had to grow in my friendship with Grandma, and I’m thankful still that she is no longer sick, but has found herself allive and healthy in a place more beautiful than any artist can conjure up in there imagination:0)

::So there you have it, a bit of memory for each wonderful person. Yes, I shared with you only my good memories and positive points of each persons life, but thats the way I see fit to do it. There’s a time and a place to share the Ups and Downs of someones life…but in this case, only the Up’s are necessary. Thanks for reading this if you did…I hope it provokes you to appreciate someone in your life all the better.::

Be Blessed,
Kelsey