Grandma Watson

My grandmother, Hila Watson, passed away 3 years ago this week, right after the Thanksgiving holiday. I've been thinking a lot about her lately and so I thought I would put down a few of my thoughts.


Almost a year ago I had my baby girl and gave her the name of Embrie Hila Callahan. I named her after my grandma because I love my grandma and wanted to keep her name in the family as a reminder of where I and my daughter came from. Embrie is a daily reminder of my Grandma Watson. There is something there in her face and especially her smile that has grandma behind it. So it turns out she was named after the right person!

The things that I remember about grandma:

1- She loved Christmas! The holidays were a special time in the Watson house. My dad loved Christmas as well and I think it had to do with the way that he was raised. When I was very young there was always a Christmas party with the whole family and grandma would cook up a bunch of great food. The house would be decked out. Grandma loved Santa! I think she loved having the family around her. She always made Christmas a magical time for me. As families moved away here and there, after my dad passed away and grandma's health wasn't what it used to be we didn't have a party every year but once in awhile Grandma would get us all together again for a holiday party. In the picture below Grandma was talking to us all at one of the last Christmas parties before she passed. She would always say "this is probably my last Christmas . . ." and we would all say, " Whatever grandma!" and come up with a million excuses as to why she would have to stay around another year at least! unfortunately it eventually came to pass, but I always think of Grandma around Christmas time.


2- Grandma was a giver! She loved to give to others and see the smile on their faces. She always went above and beyond what she should have for Christmas, birthdays, baby showers, etc. Not only did she like to give "presents" but she liked to take you special places and do special things with you which is also a gift. Sometimes she liked to be a giver of advice too! She always spoke her mind.

3- Grandma was a great cook! She could whip up about anything and it would be awesome, enough said!

4- Grandma had lots of stories to tell. A great memory and it was always fun to listen.

5- She was a great geneologist! She did so much work for our family as well as many families across the country. She turned countless names in to the temple. She was very good at it. People who had worked very long and hard to find their ancestors without success were later able to find them thanks to Grandma.

She was and is a wonderful person and a great influence in my life. I hope that I can be more like her in my life. I love her and miss her dearly.