My great-grandmother succumbed to leukemia at about 3:00 A.M. this morning. She was 91, and had she lived until her next birthday on March 19, she would have been 92. We have been expecting her to die for some time, and truly, it is remarkable that I was able to know my great-grandmother for so long. Sarah will have memories of her great-great-grandmother, and not many people can claim that.

Granny always used to have Dr. Pepper in bottles in her fridge whenever we visited. She used to offer us one as soon as we walked in the door: “Do you want a Dr. Pepper, Sugie?” She called all of us “Sugie.”

She had a very hard life. A few days ago, she told family members that she was “tired” and she was “ready to see Ted [my great-grandfather, who died of complications related to Alzheimer’s and diabetes a little over two years ago].

I do hope she is resting peacefully. She deserves it.