Mary Ranschau

My Grandma Ranschau passed away on Friday morning (August 26, 2011). Andy and I spent the weekend trying to book flights, but were not able to I think primarily because of Hurricane Irene on the east coast of the US. We tried booking online (the website never let us buy a flight) as well as spending hours on hold with airlines. Long story short folks, don't waste your time trying to find out if grievance fares are cheaper because in our experience, they never are. I've spent the time when we weren't trying to figure out airplane tickets, thinking about my wonderful grandma and her life. I'd like to share what I know of her life story and other memories that I have of her so Carsten can read it later when he's older.

Mary Wilder grew up in Washington State near Spokane in a rural farming area. Her family had German ancestry and she was one of a set of identical twins, however, her twin died early on. As a young girl, she contracted polio and as a result, she lost all of her teeth and was told she'd never have children. She was pen pals with my grandpa's sister, Lenny, and one year she came out to visit NW Iowa. She met my grandpa, Walter Ranschau, at this time and from what I understand, he thought she was pretty amazing. By then end of her time with the family, they were engaged, but she had to go home before he got a ring. So, he sent a ring through the mail to my grandma in Washington and went out to visit her family to gain permission. He came back to Iowa with the permission he sought and they were married about 2 months later on January 2. In the 2 months leading up to their wedding my grandma made her own wedding dress! They settled on a farm in between Inwood and Lester, Iowa, where contrary to what the doctors had told her, they started a family. Their initial house did not have running water, and they eventually built a new house with 7 bedrooms instead of only 4. My mom, Ruth, was old enough to remember the first house, and they had 9 children in this small house. My grandma tended a large vegetable and fruit garden and canned a lot of produce to provide food for their large family. She also was an excellent seamstress and crocheter and made a lot of clothes and blankets for the family. My grandpa has said that these qualities and actions enabled them to have a large family while living on a farmer's income. My grandpa and grandma both sacrificed a lot for their family, and I can't help but think that with growing all the food, cooking all the food, sewing clothes, washing clothes (especially without running water!), raising children, and cleaning house for a family of 12, that my grandma was an impossibly amazing woman. In addition to caring for her own family of 10 children, she cared for other underprivileged children in the area by providing food and clothes. I've always wondered when she managed time to find sleep. When asked later in life by my grandpa 'If we could do it over again and have less children, would you do it?', my grandma would reply 'No, I wanted every one of them.' What an outstanding lady. My Grandma's faith was always important to her and one of the stories I've her from my Grandpa was that they started out their marriage right away by praying together. Her family of 10 children inevitably grew to include 35+ grandchildren and 17+ great-grandchildren at the time of her death. No one knows the exact count - there's just too many!

Here are my memories of Grandma Ranschau:

-I always remember her crocheting, sewing, cooking, washing dishes, or tending to her flower or vegetable garden. She was rarely sitting still.

-When we would come over frequently there were about 6 pans of coffee cake just ready to be eaten. We always obliged :). I think Grandma did an amazing job of cooking on a large scale, which I definitely appreciate more as I cook for my family of three. I always wondered if she cooked way too much when it was just her and Grandpa at home.

-When I was little I used to come up from the basement where we were allowed to run amuck and ask her for candy which she kept in one of the upper cabinets in the laundry room. She almost always gave me some, but only after calling me 'A Pill' while smiling. Similarly, we used to come up from the basement and beg her to 'pop' our her dentures. She had this trick of popping her top denture in an amazing way that never failed to provide us amusement. Despite all our begging, she didn't do it too often.

-We used to play on her bus, which she kept on the yard. Grandpa did not always like us to play in his bus, but Grandma would always let us play in hers. I think she knew the value of entertaining so many children, and let me tell you, we could sit in the bus for hours...

-Grandma was always on the lookout to save money and always had clipped coupons.

-Grandma also crocheted many items which includes the brown and white blanket that now sits in our living room in Switzerland. We also have a beautiful star quilt that she made before she got Alzheimer's and my grandpa had it finished for our wedding. Both items are beautifully done and are treasured so much by us. 

Carsten is wrapped in my baby blanket, which my Grandma made.

-Grandma usually had wonderful handmade gifts for all of her grandchildren at Christmas. We all had matching red pajamas and quillows (quilt that folds into a pillow). I can't imagine how long it took her to make those for so many grandchildren! Grandpa and Grandma had a piano in their living room, and at Christmas those grandkids who could play would play while everyone else crowded into the room and listened and/or sang along. Grandpa especially loves singing and it's always a joy to hear him sing.
-I spent the day with Grandma once and she showed me how to make a pillow. I still have the navy pillow that I made with her.

-Grandma loved flowers and had an amazingly beautiful flower garden. Her favorite flowers were pansies and they will always remind me of her, especially the purple pansies. 

-She had sore knees and diabetes, but despite both of these, was still always quite active and did not complain.

-I almost always saw Grandma happy. I think having her family nearby always made her happy. She always smiled, and there's something about a smiling grandparent that is wonderful.

-She had a fear of fire.

-Later in life, when she had Alzheimer's my sister, Ashley, would help her play fast and dirty Uno, which is the Ranschau game of choice. I loved watching my sister help my Grandma, and typically with Ashley's help, Grandma would almost always win :). Ashley on the other hand, usually ended up at the back of the pack... ;) What a loving sister I have. I think we can all learn from her amazing kindness, love, and patience. Also we used to hide the clocks and shut the blinds in order to try to keep Grandma playing cards with us longer because she wanted to go back home when it got dark outside - she was usually too smart for us though :).

-Grandma and Grandpa frequently came to our sporting events, and it was really fun to have them in the audience. Especially when Grandpa would holler and then Grandma would tell him to be quiet or say 'Oh, Walter.' It was really quite fun to watch them together :). Similarly, Grandpa loved to give Grandma kisses, and I think in general, Grandma was a bit more shy about it, but she usually allowed 1 or 2 chaste pecks. Grandpa always used to talk about Grandma's ankles. Apparently they used to be quite something :).

-I think I'll always remember the kind care my Grandpa gave my Grandma even when in the nursing home. His first thoughts were always for her, while hers were for him. They had a truly loving marriage, which is an amazing testament in a society that no longer values marriage as it once did. They both loved God and put each other and family first. We are lucky to have had such a great example of self-sacrifice and love, and hopefully we will be able to emulate them. 

-I'm so thankful that I got to see Grandma hold Carsten as a baby. Those were the arms that cared for so many children, including my mother and I imagine, me. She helped to shape my mother, who in turn, helped to make me who I am today. I am so blessed to have gotten so much time with her.

Our last Thanksgiving with Grandma. 4 generations are in this photo :).

Grandpa and Grandma at Christmas

My sweet grandparents