Good-bye Grandmom Mac

Friday was a sad day for members of the McNamara, Phillips, Fetter, Pawolski, Weller and Scerbo families. We lost one of our own.
Lyla McNamara passed away Friday morning. She was a strong and wonderful woman and the matriarch to a close knit clan. She made me feel like a member of the family from the moment I met her.
Lyla never lost her Texas twang. It was distinctive. I can still hear it when I close my eyes. My wife would talk to her on the phone all the time when we were going out. I would sit close by hoping to catch a brief bit of her voice. Something about it just put you at ease.
Unfortunately, that twang was silenced some years ago by a stroke. There are few things as devestating as when Grandmom couldn't communicate with her family any longer. But despite this, she pushed on. She tried her best to communicate her wants and needs and her family stood by her.
I miss her already. Her family misses her. But I know she will live on in our memories, as have so many others we have said good-bye to before. She left a legacy. It's up to us to preserve it.