A Classic- by Donna

In my college days, a guy said to me, “You’re a classic.” Having a daddy who restores antique cars, I knew that was a compliment. A week ago today, we lost a classic. Ezzie Holdbrooks, age 98, passed away. We all called her Mamaw. The definition of classic is “judged over a period of time to be of the highest quality and outstanding of its kind.”  Mamaw was that and more.

Mamaw loved everyone, and she let them know it. Even in the days of technology, she wrote letters and cards to people weekly. Each one signed, “I love you and God loves you too.” She had that unconditional love. It didn’t matter who you were; she cared for you. Mamaw’s love came from knowing God. She knew his love and passed it on to others. Mamaw was the chosen “grace” sayer in the family.  Anytime we had a family gathering, big or small, she blessed the meal. The words varied, but it always ended the same. “…and most of all, we thank you for your love.”

“I Tell You”

Ninety-eight years, Wow!  Imagine all she has seen in her lifetime. The world is so different now. She loved to tell stories about the olden days. My children often mimicked her, “I tell you…” beginning of a story. She often told how hard she worked as a young girl picking cotton and how her hands ached, and how they traveled in a horse drawn cart.

The Best Babysitter

Mamaw was an awesome baby sitter. My kids loved staying there because she joined in their fun and entertained them.  Emily had an imaginary friend named Michael when she was two. One day when I went to pick her up, I walked into the den and peeked around the corner.  Mamaw had Emily by the hand and was calling loudly, “Michael, Michael, where are you? Michael, where are you hiding?” Emily was grinning from ear to ear as they went from room to room looking in closets, under beds, and behind curtains for her imaginary friend.

Papaw (her husband) had died in the early nineties. So she spent many years single. She loved the Halloween season when she could get out her rocking chair witch. It had a motion sensor and it would periodically begin rocking and laughing. She said it kept her company. Travis was afraid of it, so when he came over, she hid it in the closet. With Travis being so quiet, she catered to his needs. She had a bond with him and knew what he needed without him having to voice it.

When Tucker was about two, I came to pick him up from Mamaw’s. ‘I tell you’,  he and Mamaw were cutting patches of the grass with scissors. I stood there amused at the two of them squatting down, clipping away.  Looking at me she said, “Well, he wanted to cut the grass!” She was that way with all her great-grandchildren. She knew them well and attended to their different personalities and needs.

A Good Person

One day, probably twenty years ago, I was having a conversation with someone who was not a church-goer.  They were questioning the Bible. He asked me, “The ten commandments are the rules you should follow, but does the Bible even tell you what kind of person you are suppose to be, besides ‘good’?”  I replied, “Yes, you should have the fruits of the spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” He looked at me saying, “I only know one person in this world who is all that, and it’s Mamaw.”  No truer words could be said.

As a grandson said at her funeral (and I’m paraphrasing), “She isn’t gone. She is here now and will always be here” and he pointed to the grandchildren and great-grandchildren “because a part of her is in all those she loved.”  

Because she took the time to be a part of their lives, to love them and show them God’s love, her legacy will live on.

Ezzie Augusta Fuller Holdbrooks

 April 1, 1920-April 12, 2018