By Emily Sanderson Olsen
December 20, 2020
I believe that Grandma came to visit us when my brother Alan was born in Athens, Georgia when I was four, but probably my earliest real memories of her were when we visited Grandma and Grandpa in Atascadero. I don’t remember how old I was, but I do remember being on the beach with them and eating outdoors. Grandma wore black and white checked pants and an airy, light-colored blouse with sophisticated ruffles. She had salt and pepper hair that she kept curled.
Grandma Sanderson was off-the-charts creative and had an infectious happiness the way she would hum to herself in the kitchen or when she would put her fingers through my hair. I loved our hikes and her knowledge of the names of birds and flowers. I remember hiking with her in Zion National Park, Pine Valley, Snow Canyon, Box Canyon in Sanpete County, and countless other trails. Just taking a drive with Grandma and Grandpa was adventurous and educational. They were sure to point out where the bald eagle’s nest was along the road. What I would observe as a horse, they would refer to as a pinto. When my hair got in my face along a trail, Grandma would tie it back with strands of a desert plant like the Native Americans did.
I have fond memories of lazy afternoons in their Pine Valley cabin, when Grandpa would turn on Debussy, Beethoven or Bach as we looked out the windows at his garden, watch wildlife, or observe the shades of dark blue and gray in a summer thunderstorm. I so appreciate Grandma and Grandpa teaching me to capture the peace that comes from being one with nature.
I loved the cultural gifts they sent from their missions in the Philippines and South Africa, the wood-carved animals and the jewelry. They encouraged me to have a curiosity and fascination with cultures that were foreign to me, and I continue to pursue that cultural understanding. Later in her life, Grandma enjoyed talking about a Tolstoy novel or watching a Jane Austen movie with me.
I will always be grateful that she helped me financially for a time after I had gotten laid off in 2008, and I will pay it forward to family members I am able to humbly assist now and in the future. I was married on Grandma’s 92nd birthday, and we celebrated her birthday at my wedding reception with a separate cake. It was a joyous occasion. The coincidence in dates was not planned, but I am grateful for the extra significance of that special day.
I enjoyed reading the scriptures with Grandma and Grandpa. When it was just the two of them, they would take turns reading a column or so, and when I was visiting, they would invite me to participate. Once or twice during a reading, one of them would stop to discuss something that had jumped out to them. I know that Grandma had a great testimony of the Book of Mormon, and reading it gave her strength throughout her life.
Grandma came from an incredible family and loved to tell us stories about Levi Stewart from Scotland who had settled Kanab, and her Cottam and Jarvis ancestors who had come from England and helped settle St. George. Grandpa’s Sanderson ancestry was also frequently shared with us. She always made me proud of my family and of the sacrifices made by the Mormon pioneers.
I have thought a lot about Grandma since her passing, usually when falling asleep after having gone to bed. In the last few years with her needing more assistance and more companionship, I so enjoyed being near her. The spirit in her home was always powerful and calming. I know the veil was thin there after Grandpa’s passing, especially in the last few years of her life. She so missed Grandpa, and losing Stewart was also a really difficult blow for her. I was devastated to watch the life she had loved so much slowly drain from her, but despite her physical pain and foggy mind, she continued to have faith that the Lord would guide her and support her through the process. I also know she gained support from her parents who she dearly loved. She had personally painted portraits of each of them that she kept in her bedroom, and would consult with them each day.
I wonder where Grandma is in heaven. She feels very far away still, but I know she has reunited with Grandpa, Steffanie and Stewart. She has a lot that is keeping her busy — tasks that we here on earth don’t know about.
Grandma was mostly oblivious to the crazy news happening in the last few years of her life, but in her moments of lucidity, she liked hearing about the Mueller Report and other news events. I explained to her that as a trained journalist, I felt a responsibility to stay informed about the news happening and to provide analysis to those around me who will listen. Her advice to me was that if I felt it was important, that I needed to give this desire my time and effort. I so appreciate that moment of lucidity she shared with me, which I consider as personal guidance to me from the Lord. I continue to search for an understanding but also solutions to our current local and national political environments.
Towards the end of her life, Grandma stopped wearing the wig she had started wearing after Grandpa’s passing, and it was then that I saw her with straight hair like her sisters Margery and Carolyn, and I realized how much I look like her. A part of Grandma still lives in my soul. During the family prayer after her passing, I suddenly had the distinct but crazy expectation that she was just going to sit right up out of her casket, and, with her warm, bellowing voice, say hello to everyone. She would have been the life of the party at that family gathering, so grateful to see and hug everyone.
Perhaps the Covid pandemic this year was a catalyst for Grandma to pass, but whether she was infected by the disease or not, her body was shutting down, and it was time for her to reunite with loved ones in heaven. I regretted not being able to visit her during the last few months of her life because of the Covid restrictions at her care center. Since care center residents throughout the country have made up a third of Covid deaths this year, we all knew that chances were high that Grandma could be impacted in one way or another. Gratefully, she was able to meet her newest great-granddaughter Athena, daughter of Mark and Emily Sanderson, before her passing just an hour later. Mark was there when the nurses informed him that Grandma’s time was short and that we should visit her soon to say good bye. I didn’t get that chance, but I know that her passing was peaceful and that she was among loved ones.
I am grateful for Grandma Glenna Claire Cottam Sanderson, who taught me to love life. She had a deep understanding of the Atonement of Christ and recognized its power in her life. She will be forever cherished.
Glenna Claire Cottam Sanderson 