Great grandma's birthday, mostly
likely September, 1970.
When I was 9 years old, I rode with my Dad from Milwaukee to Racine to visit my Great Grandma Willing in the nursing home. This would be the first and only time I would meet her. My memories of that day are of her white hair and the strangeness of the nursing home. She had fallen and broke her hip and needed care she couldn't get at home with her daughters, Hildegard and Genevieve. As far as I know, she never went back home and died within a year of our visit. She was 91 years old.
As a child, my Dad and his family "traveled regularly to visit my Mom's family, the Willings, and our cousins in Racine. I remember Grandma Willing quite well. Snow-white hair, rimless glasses, cotton print house dresses, black high heeled lace shoes and a soft gentle voice were her trademarks."
Even though I don't remember much of that visit, I feel fortunate to have met her once and hope she felt the same. With 81 years between us, she was born the year Thomas Edison invented the incandescent light bulb, 1879 and lived through 20 United States Presidents, the Spanish American War, World Wars I and II, Korean War, Vietnam War, the Wright Brother's first airplane, the addition of 12 states into the Union and numerous scientific inventions/theories including Albert Enstein's Theory of Relativity.
Genevieve Willing (Dunham)
Gorski, date unknown.
Grandma Lizzie's story will appear soon under the Willing Family page. A large majority of the information for this post will be from Genevieve Willing's memoirs written sometime in the late 1970's or early 1980's while she was recovering from surgery. Without her forethought and insight there wouldn't be a post. Her writings about childhood, siblings, parents and grandparents as well as daily life in the Willing home prove to me that everyone has a story to tell. Even the most seemingly everyday, unimportant writings will be someone's treasure someday. Thank you, Aunt Gen!