Monday, October 24, 2011

Grandma's Plates

My Grandmother passed away a couple weeks ago. Yeesterday I was reminded about the one thing I loved most about Grandma! I remember Grandma Lanning as a woman who loved God and shared Christ to those around her.

This past weekend I went up to NY to help Roger move back down to Texas. While helping Roger clean and pack I saw a Corelle Corning Ware plate with my Grandmothers pattern. As I was helping Roger out I broke down in tears--I was reminded of Grandmas dinner table, a place where there were always three things present:

1) People, lots of them, from anywhere. Family, friends, people off of the street, it didn't matter what you looked like or where you came from, there was always room for one more. :)
2) Food, nobody goes hungry on a dairy farm, especially when with the Lanning's.
3) God, we always prayed the Lanning family prayer--For our food and all our gifts of love, we give our thanks and praise, oh Father who look down from above, and bless us all our days. Amen.

Below you can read the obituary that was found in the newspaper.

April 15, 1917 – October 3, 2011Ollie Dean Lanning went to be with the Lord on October 3, 2011 at the age of 94. Ollie Dean was loved and respected by many. Her caregivers, Juan and Alma Araiza have been a blessing to her and the family for the last nine years.

Ollie Dean was born in Stockton, Missouri on April 15, 1917 to Harley and Nellie Beall. She moved to various locations while her husband, Forest R “Bud” Lanning was in the Navy, but returned to her Missouri roots where the family farmed the home place where she was born on the Sac River. The family moved to southern Oregon and settled in the Rogue Valley to be near her in-laws when the Stockton Dam was built because most of the property was going to be underwater. In Eagle Point, Oregon Ollie Dean and Bud owned and operated the “Lanning’s Mo-Oak” dairy farm. She has been a resident of Oregon for the past 47 years, the last few years living in Canby, Oregon.

On Mother’s Day in 1958, the Prairie Valley Methodist Church presented a Bible to Ollie Dean for being selected “Mother of the Year.” She loved children and raised not only her own seven children but many others. Numerous nieces and nephews came for extended stays on the farm. Her love of children prompted her to lead the 4-H garden and flower clubs and assist leading the 4-H dairy club. She was an amazing FFA Mother encouraging her children to compete in dairy judging, tractor driving and other contests. Local county fairs, in both Stockton and Medford, have benefitted by her volunteer hours.

Ollie Dean loved to read and garden. When offered the opportunity, Ollie Dean ordered a Lifetime Subscription to Reader’s Digest magazine. Gardening books were very practical in nature as Ollie Dean gardened for the beauty and for practical reasons. Cookbooks assisted her as she fed her family with the food she canned, froze and dried. She enjoyed travel books and she enjoyed going to many destinations. She loved to learn and education was a high priority all of her life.

Ollie Dean was married for 51 years. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, Forest R “Bud” Lanning, sons Brian and Frank Lanning and granddaughter, Shasta Thomson. Ollie Dean is survived by her children and their spouses, Forest & Barbara of Canby, OR, (Brian) Betsy Lanning of Medford, OR, George & Leslie Lanning of Salem, OR, Alice & Larry Wells of Anderson, IN, (Frank) Mariah Hegarty of Denver, CO, Neil & Alice Lanning of Centralia, WA, Ruth & Tom Thomson of San Antonio, TX, 17 grandchildren and their spouses, 18 great grandchildren and spouses and a great-great grandson, numerous nieces and nephews. She is also survived by her sister and her husband, Mary Ellen & John Nelson of Los Gatos, CA.

Ollie Dean Lanning will be laid to rest with her husband in a private family interment at the Veteran’s National Cemetery in Eagle Point, Oregon. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations may be made in her honor to the Eagle Point Grange, PO Box 252, Eagle Point, OR 97524 or the Eagle Point VFW Auxiliary, PO Box 626, Eagle Point, OR 97524. Condolence cards can be sent to Forest D Lanning at 253 SE 9th Ave., Canby, OR 97013.