Picture taken 2000

  
 

 
 

About their Great Grandma "Margaret Bassett"

  
 

Kody Reighard's memories he wrote for a school project

  
  Sunday’s are a special day in my family. They have always been for church and family. From the time that I was very little Great Grandma Bassett, my dad’s grandma, seemed to know more about God than anyone else that I knew except Pastor Phil at the church. On Sunday morning we’d go to church, and Grandma Bassett would always want our family to sit near her and Pap Bassett. If there were enough room, my dad would start walking that direction while warning my brother and I to behave and stay separated. Even if we didn’t behave, Grandma Bassett thought we were just great. We loved her for that.

After church, we’d take a left-hand turn out of the church parking lot then about 50 yards later a right-hand turn onto Bassett Lane, which is where Grandma and Pap Bassett lived. We would always get there before Grandma and Pap because Grandma talked to everyone before she left the church. Pap would quietly leave the church and wait for her in the car. If it were winter, he would start the car to warm it up and bring it closer to the door for her.

When we went into the house, it always smelled so good because every weekend she baked something fresh. She had special recipes for bread and cinnamon rolls. They were delicious. Sometimes we would be eating lunch there, so we would have to sit and behave for a while. It was very hard for my brother and I not to try to find something to occupy us. We’d start exploring the living room and dining room, which were pretty boring. Then we’d decide we had to go to the bathroom, which just happened to be upstairs where there were three bedrooms with some really neat things.

Grandma Bassett made quilts by hand, so there were always pieces of all different kinds of materials in her spare bedroom that was a sewing room. That room also had an exercise bike in it. I loved riding that exercise bike. The only problem was that it made noise. My dad didn’t want us in Grandma’s bedrooms. I think he was afraid that we would mess up one of her quilts. There was no way I could resist that exercise bike when I was bored. Grandma didn’t mind that I rode it, but my dad sure did. He could hear me riding that bike downstairs in the living room.

Finally, lunch would be ready. There would be so much food. Grandma Bassett always made sure that there was something on the table that everyone liked, even Kraig, who doesn’t like vegetables. Grandma Bassett always said grace before we ate, but it took her so long that we were afraid the food would get cold before we ate it. Pap Reighard would even start to look at her kind of funny wondering when she would be finished with the blessing. It was always a really nice blessing, just a little too long. I miss Grandma Bassett’s long blessings.

 

  
 

 
 

Kraig Reighard's memories he wrote for a school project

  
 

Memoir of My Grandma

My Grandma Bassett was probably one of the strongest, quietest, most religious, little, old ladies I ever met in my life. She could accomplish just about anything she set her mind to, and she could get you to do anything she asked you to do. She never hesitated to ask you to help her with something, but she always made sure to let you know how much she appreciated your time when you were finished with the job.

My Grandma Bassett grew up on a farm, so she always had a very large garden with so many different kinds of vegetables either canned or frozen. This was something that really didn’t interest me since I don’t really like vegetables very much, but the rest of my family really appreciated the homegrown produce.

When Pap Bassett was still alive, after church we sometimes ate Sunday dinner at their house. We never knew ahead of time what we were having, but we knew it would be really good. She had so many different ways of preparing the most normal things. For example, special sauces that she would put over the meat and special family recipes for bread and cinnamon rolls.

After Pap Bassett died, Grandma lived by herself for a little while, but she was already in her eighties, and it wasn’t safe. Our family convinced her to move in with my Grandma and Pap Reighard for her safety, and so that she wouldn’t be alone all of the time. It was a difficult adjustment for everyone. We could tell that she missed the home that she lived in with Pap Bassett for 60 years, but she knew she couldn’t live there alone. Eventually, everyone settled into a new kind of normal routine.

Grandma’s face would light up whenever we stopped in for a visit. She was just always happy to see us and talk to us By this time Grandma wasn’t able to get around as good as when she was younger, so she often asked us to get things for her. Sometimes we got the correct thing, sometimes we brought her the wrong thing, and sometimes we took too long looking for the thing that she wanted, but she was never impatient with us. She was very soft spoken, so we had to listen closely. Actually, we almost had to lean toward her to hear her when she spoke.

Finally, Grandma Bassett was 95 years old when she had to go into a nursing home about 6 months before she died. She wasn’t eating, and she wasn’t able to walk anymore, so she needed professional care. When we saw her 2 days before she died, she was still happy to see us, and she prayed with us before we left her that evening. What a great lady.

 

  
 

This is put here 3/22/2006    Margaret would have been 98

  
 

Thank you Kody & Kraig for your memories.