Thursday, August 24, 2017

94 Years Remembered in 94 Days-Post 48 (Pictures from BIsbee Cemetery)




On what is our great grandma Roughan's 165th birthday, I wanted to write a little bit about her.  I already have shared some things.   I do not remember her as she died in March after I was born in 1949.    She died just a few weeks after our grandfather, E. A. Scott died.  Teresa told me that many people thought that our grandfather was her son, not her son-in-law because she was so fond of him.

Grandma Roughan was 96 years old when she died.  From what I have heard, she was sharp until the very end.   

I know that she had several episodes where they didn't think she would pull through, and as soon as she was given the last rights, she would perk up again.

She immigrated from County Mayo in Ireland and I often think how hard that must have been as she did not read or write.  When they left their families to come to the U.S., the truly left everything behind.

A story that I always remember hearing was about the Christmas of 1949.    Teresa said it was a sad Christmas because it was their first without her dad and grandma.

Grandma Roughan lived with her daughter, Annie, those last years a few blocks from our house.   Annie didn't approve of drinking and grandma Roughan liked a good cocktail.   Our grandfather always made sure she had something to drink.  Well the story went that every afternoon around 5,   grandma Roughan would have a coke with ice in it.

Our uncle Bill was home from  college in Tempe and he apparently had some dandruff.   Grandma Scott told him to wash his hair with Listerine as that was supposed to help.  So he got the bottle of Listerine that had come from Grandma Roughan's bathroom and used it on his hair.

Turns out it wasn't Listerine at all.  IT WAS WHISKEY!!  So her afternoon coke, was a cocktail.    Teresa always said that story made their Christmas so much easier because they all had a good laugh. They felt that our grandpa always made sure the Listerine bottle was full!!

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