"Sister" Grandma Jeanne

First of all, so very sorry to have delayed this post.

I was fortunate to join the same church as Grandma Jeanne when our three parishes combined.  Granted, I was a Holy Family member so we didn't often congregate with those from St. Gerard.  When we joined communities to form Holy Spirit we attended mass in the "old" church across the street.  This particular church wasn't conducive to viewing fellow church goers and since my family ALWAYS sat on the right hand side of the church anywhere from the first pew to the fifth pew back, our view of the left hand side of the church was minimized.  However, I have vivid memories of Jeanne at church.  She sat on the front left hand side and congregated with the Wingerters and a multitude of other church-goers.  I obviously didn't know her as Grandma Jeanne at the time, nor did I think of her as anyone's Grandma for that matter.  As a matter of fact, from a very young age, I believed that Jeanne was a NUN!

I continued to believe Grandma was a nun until the day Meghan and I attended church together for the first time and Meghan told me she wanted me to meet her grandmother.  Even after Meghan introduced Jeanne as her grandmother I still refused to believe she wasn't a member of some Catholic Order of sisters and that she had retired, which would explain the lack of the black and white attire.  I remember asking Meghan, "So why do you call her grandma?  Did you guys "adopt" her into your family or something like that?"  Give me a break here, I was trying to overcome 15+ years of mistaken identity.

At the time I didn't know why I had made the mistake of assuming Grandma Jeanne was a nun, nor could I believe that I didn't make the connection to the Wingerters.  It wasn't until Meghan and I lived with Grandma that I fully came to understand why I had believed what I believed for so many years.  To me the sisterhood has and always will be connected to women who heard and most importantly answered a calling to something greater than themselves.  Grandma was called to serve her God, her family and her community, all of which she did in her own unique way.  I was fortunate to watch her service in action while we lived with her for those months and consider myself a better person for having been influenced by Grandma's desire to live a life that was so balanced, authentic, and a true representation of what it means to become the very best possible version of oneself.

So there's that.  I was going to share a funny/horrifying/awkward moment that I shared with my soon to be grandmother-in-law while on a trip to Sioux Falls with Meghan, Jan, Molly, and Jen.  But you'll have to ask me in person after I've had a few beers and I'm more willing to relive the moment out loud.

-Ryan

Leap day

Happy leap day to everyone. I saw a cartoon in the funnies that said "It's just cruel adding an extra day to election years". I have to agree with that.
We still have a few people that could add their memories of Jeanne/grandma if you are so inclined. 😉

Nick and Christina's wedding

Hello Family!

I hope everyone is wrapping up their winter in fine fashion. It has been pretty nice down here in Arizona (80 degrees the last 5 days, no big deal). But I did not get on to post about the weather- I want to make sure that everyone get this invitation. I am about 95% sure it went out to the Aunts/Uncles (if you did not get one, I welcome all shouts of outrage).

I will keep this brief-

If you will reference the lower portion of the postcard above, you will notice there is an option A and an option B. While we realize we are a little late getting these out for an already quick turn-around, we want everyone to feel welcome and part of our wedding celebration. So please consider attending both/and, either/or event.  I will caveat that the below hero of the 10 C District Champs will also be graduating the day of the Option B BBQ at Wingerter HQ... So you could attend the bonus graduation of our favorite #6. (#6 being her order in the Wingerter sibling chronology).

So please consider what you can do! I know there are moore weddings out there this summer, so please take into account that neither Christina nor I will scoff at anyone who does not attend either of these events. Just promise us to send up prayers and shouts of Alleluia for our future together. She says we will be married for 80 years, so you all have plenty of time to catch up with us and give us hugs. Also she likes lemon bars, if you really want to sweeten the deal.

Ok I love you all and if you have any questions about anything, just direct them to my mother. Or I guess you can call me.

406-868-4770.



GFCCHS wins the 10C district tourney!

Maddie's basketball team has a great season going.  They were undefeated in their district during the regular season and went into the tournament Thursday as the number one seed.  Had two great games Thursday and Friday and then the Championship game last night.  This is so cool for these girls!  4 of them have been playing together since 4th grade so it is really fun.

Now on to the divisional tournament beginning on Wednesday! 

 The end of the game the Dutton/Brady Diamondbacks began fouling.  They got Maddie to the line twice for 2 shots each time.  And yes, she makes them all!

This is the 2016 Great Falls Central Mustangs!

A prayer after the game.  We are definitely in the right school!

We are very proud of you Maddie!  Congratulations~

Family Picnics

Off to the right side of the blog, below the list of states, you'll now find a list of the family picnics, at least to the best of the collective knowledge of the uncles and aunts.  Feel free to list corrections or more details in the comments below.  Thanks for Tom for compiling.

Now, where's 2016?

Happy 65th, Marc!

Happy birthday to my sweetheart of a guy!  We celebrated last night with dinner at Lucca's with Meg and Ryan.  It was lots of fun after spending a day in the gym selling tickets!  I hope that you have an awesome birthday with Meg, Ryan and the kids!  I am sorry to be abandoning you, but I will make that special cake next week!  You are a loving husband, wonderful dad and awesome grandpa!    Love you tons!!

Memories

Okay, the ball has dropped!  This was a great run and we can't let it go.  Truman, Kaitlin, Emma, Ryan - someone has to pick it up and keep it going.  This has been a true healing process for all of us and I would like to see it continue!  I am sure the last people have something to offer!!

Happy Birthday, Little Bro!

Tommy, just want to send a shout out your way for a very happy birthday!!  You are creeping toward that big 6-0!!  Can hardly wait to throw THAT party!!  Hope you are home celebrating with Jeanine!
Love you!

Ranch House print

I've sold 20 of the 50 prints. That means the Moore Family Reunion account and the Lost & Foundation are each $241 stronger. Thanks all. And keep in mind – there are plenty more prints available.

Happy Birthday, Mom

Our wonderful mom turns 55 today.  Dee and I made it over to Great Falls for a long weekend and all the siblings (minus Nick) will be here to celebrate as well.  Madison plays a game in Cascade tonight then it's a 48 hour party!  I feel very blessed to have been born into this amazing family and feel like I won the lottery as far as moms go. Don't mind my brother in the picture above, I just love Mom's smile in this.

Love ya!

Remembering

I am going through the smiling/crying period.  I have all the family pictures laid out on the floor to arrange so we can put them on the wall.  We have PJ and Sanford; Bid and Grandad with Bid's mom Josie;  Nan and Gran with Nan's dad Peter Shannon; Dad and Buck as littles; Mom and Dad's high school graduation pictures; Marc's side of the family.  What memories we both have looking at these. But then how much we miss each and every one of them!

Memories from Will

Even though I met Grandma a few times, there is just a little I remember about her and her house.  Like most of her great-grandchildren, a very clear memory of Grandma’s house is the toy basket. Maddie used to play with me and I would drive a little Jeep around the house while she chased me. I will probably always remember Grandma’s smile and chuckle as we went past her. When I was eight we visited Grandma at her condo. My brothers and I wrestled around in the grass next to the house while Grandma chatted with Mom. I would usually ask my brothers what their favorite part at Grandma’s was, and they would almost always answer, ”The toy bin!”

At Grandma’s funeral I wished that I had met Grandma more before she passed away. She was such a kind-hearted, gentle lady, and I’m glad that I met Grandma while I could. God bless you all, and I especially pray for the health of Joey and Erin’s second baby.

Love and blessings,

     William Buyske

Memories from Kelly

(I just love Gramma Jeanne's expressions in these pics 

taken in August, 2013 - had to include them!)

Hello Moore Family!  

I have so loved reading the many wonderful Gramma Jeanne stories you all have shared.  Thank you for putting into words what this amazing woman has meant to your life.  I often tell people that I won the "In-Law Lottery" when I married Matt, and I really do believe that.  You all are amazing and wonderful people to know.

Gramma Jeanne set such a quiet, strong example of faithfulness to God.  Dang, this gal was a good Catholic!  Never assuming and always accepting in my experience, I am honored to have been able to join this family and experience her wisdom and integrity.

More than any single incident, what I will remember about Jeanne is how it was almost like a surreal, special effects type of close up whenever I had the chance to really talk to her.  Everything else zoomed out, and the focus was on the conversation and moment we were sharing.  There was an intensity in sharing words with this woman, but it was completely welcoming and heart warming.  You just felt good and loved around her!

We pray for the repose of Gramma Jeanne's soul every day, but I'm pretty confident she and John are up in heaven turning cartwheels and throwing really great parties.  I'll pray that someday we'll all be up there to join in! 

With love,

Montana

  

Memories from Peter
I liked Jeanne right away. Early on in my introduction to the family, as probably so many other in-laws have experienced, there was this daunting period of having to learn what seemed like about 100 names. But Briana said, "If you forget her name, just call her Grandma." As it happened, I never did have trouble remembering her name, and she never had trouble remembering mine. As soon as she spotted me at a family gathering, she'd say, "PETER! How are you?" Toward the end, she still recognized me, although she did pull me aside and point across the room at Briana and said, "Now, who's that one?"
As many have said, she was such a delightful combination of sweetness and no-nonsense.
Also, she was kind. Once, we decided to make Thai noodles with peanut sauce at her house, and it was pretty clear that that sounded like a horrible idea to her, but she tried them and said, "It's interesting!" Good enough!
Another time, we were helping her unpack some Christmas decorations and I got hungry. There wasn't much to eat, but she pointed out a plastic container with some saltines in it. The moment I put one in my mouth I knew it was a mistake. Back in school, one of my professors really tried to impress upon us the unhealthiness of consuming rancid oils. He said once, "If you're ever eating a nut and you discover it's rancid, I don't care if the Queen herself gave it to you. Spit it out!" Now this cracker was seriously rancid. Not just rancid but chewy. Crackers should not be chewy. That professor's words popped into my head and I thought, "I need to get this out of my mouth immediately." But as I turned back to her, having just popped that chewy, rancid cracker in my mouth, she said, "Peter! THANK YOU so much for helping me with this stuff." And I chewed it up and swallowed it and said, "You're so welcome, Jeanne!"  It was worth it.
Thanks, everyone, for welcoming me into your family.

Memories from Kesiah

I remember celebrating Grama's birthday with Uncle Jim and her cribbage cake. She would send me birthday cards that would have a different age than I was which was always funny.  What I remembered most is that she always gave us great hugs and seemed to be smiling. I am glad that she would come see Uncle Jim so much when he lived here because it was nice to see her.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

I just wanted to take a quick second to wish my mom a Happy Birthday!

I was lucky enough to be home for Thanksgiving and Christmas to spend time with mom and the family.  Shannon got mom a selfie stick for Christmas for their Hawaii trip so we were trying it out after opening presents.  I asked her if she could read this non-existent fine print on my phone from 4 feet away and after trying and trying she finally got closer and I got the picture.  That's when she figured out I had tricked her.

She's such a good sport that it actually turned out to be a picture I think is awesome and she'll totally be cool with me posting it here.  Happy birthday, mom!  Love you!

Grandma Jeanne

I did not get to spend much alone time with Grandma, but she did teach me to play cribbage.  I have shared this game with my own family but it always reminds me of Grandma Jeanne when I play.  I wasn't close to my own grandparents, so I appreciate Grandma welcoming me into the family like she did.  She was very important to Miranda and so was very important to me.  She will be missed.

Nathan M.

Memories from Carter

I remember getting birthday cards from Grama with some cash and handwriting that my Mom had to read because I couldn’t. I remember being at Uncle Jim’s house in Grantsville with Grama and she was trying to convince him to let us watch a movie that he didn’t want. I remember coming in from gathering Jim’s eggs and Grama had little baggies of toy animals and candy for us. I also remember her trying to teach me cribbage and I was not very good. But she was nice and patient.

Memories from Mikayla

When we were in Montana a few years ago, I was hanging back with Opa J and Grama Jeanne at the hotel room and we decided to play a dice game. And every time that Opa got any kind of point, Grama accused him of cheating and would say, “I can’t believe you would cheat against your own mother and granddaughter”. And every time I got a point, she was proud, saying, “Good Job!” She would also always tell me that I look just like my mom.        I remember once going to her old house when I was really little and I went to open a cupboard that was apparently the “birthday” cupboard and I saw a great doll in there. Grama saw me and ushered me away saying that was off limits but I mentioned the doll and just happened to get it for my birthday a few months later. It has been my favorite doll since that day that I still adore. 

Memories from Jerry

So there are two memories of grandma that stick out to me the most.

First, she came and stayed with us once back when we lived in married student housing. We had her sleep in our bed and we slept out in the front room. It was a great setup but the next day, she seemed actually upset that she had taken our bed. When Hannah protested that it was really fine, she said, “Oh, Bullsh**, if I come stay again, you will sleep in your own bed”.

Second, after Abe’s wedding we were driving her back to the hotel and the surroundings got her to reminiscing about when she was first married and her husband was in the military. She talked about her memories of him and his war stories and it was clear to see what great memories they were for her. She really lit up talking about him and that time for them and it was a great experience.

Grama Moore has always been an inspiration to me and my family. I admired her spiritual strength and sense of family and her example has been something I have tried to emulate.

Jerry