In Loving Memory- Oma Erika Michel

My daughter Erika with her great-Oma Erika

My sweet Oma- Erika Jutta Kreisel Michel, passed away on August 3, 2015.  It was a sad day for many but also a relief as she has spent many years suffering.  She will be greatly missed!  She went through many hard things in her live, the most significant one being her escape to America from Germany, where religious freedom was threatened.  She came to this land with practically nothing, knowing only a few people, and speaking no English.  She left behind her parents and family, never to see them again in this life.  She made this sacrifice with the intent to bless her posterity with a better life, for which I will be forever grateful.   She struggled for the remainder of her life to provide a good life for her children and to teach them the gospel.  She went through many health problems later in her life, but bore them up with dignity.  

At the care center a few months before she passed away.
  She was no longer speaking or responding to people.  

My Oma was a good woman.  

I feel very blessed to have been able to know her as long as I have, being one of the oldest grandchildren.  I have many sweet memories of her when she was still young.  She took the time to spend with me, even when it was not convenient for her.  I remember one day in particular- I had spent the night (just me) at my Oma and Opa's house and Oma was going to take me shopping for my birthday at ZCMI.  I'm sure I slept right in-between Oma and Opa as we children usually did when we spent the night.  I remember she made me her special German pancakes, my favorite.  I also remember that she wasn't feeling too well that day and I told her it was okay, we didn't have to go anywhere, but she insisted.  She took me to ZCMI and while we were there, we had to stop at the bathroom where she was throwing up and I sat and waited for her for quite a while.  People kept passing me and saying, "Are you with the woman in there?  Is she okay?"  I said yes and eventually we finished our shopping and went home.  This is just one example of how my Oma put others before herself.  She was constantly in the kitchen baking delicious things and she loved to create a beautiful flower garden.  I remember hearing her humming the same German tunes and holding and rocking me and my siblings.  

Oma holding Erika

I think my Oma had a special bond with my Erika, as she carried her name.  Fortunately, Erika has had the opportunity of knowing her and will remember her.

Oma holding Erika as an infant

Oma pushing Erika on her walker at Bear Lake

Oma holding Kyle as an infant

Oma with Heidi in her favorite chair and her dog Molly

All we really have after we leave this life are the memories that we leave behind.  I hope someday I can say that I was as good a woman as my Oma was.  She left a legacy behind for all of us to follow.  Knowing her makes me want to be a better person and to live in a way that would honor her.