Today is the 103^rd anniversary of the birth of my husband’s mother, Grace Louise Sogge Erickson. I first met this lovely woman in the summer of 1961 when I enjoyed going to movies and picnics with her older son, Ray. She was patiently waiting for their house in Parma, Ohio to sell so they could move to Atlanta, Georgia, where Ray’s father, Vincent, had been transferred.

I always felt welcome and accepted in her home. We had common interests in Hand-Work. When Ray and I visited his parents after we were married, Grace would sit with the family all evening doing counted cross-stitch which became Christmas gifts under the tree. She also took up ceramic painting and machine embroidery.

 

 

 

 

 

 

When I learned to weave and bought a floor loom, she was interested in what I was making. At their annual visits, she brought me bags of fabric and yarn she had found at a sale somewhere.

When I started going to college at the age of forty-two, Grace encouraged me to continue, saying she thought it was good for a woman to have a profession. She was a pharmacist. While I was in grad school, she sent me a little wood plaque to stand on my desk that said, “Follow Your Dream”.

Sadly, she wasn’t here on earth to see how the dream has played out in the last twenty-seven years. Her kindness and love made a huge impact on my life.

Happy Birthday, Grace !