A Celebration of Grandma's Life

Visitation, funeral, burial, reception, party the Lonnemann way to celebrate a life. We were all caught by surprise when Grandma Lonnemann passed way on November 29th, 2005. She had just finished her first round of chemotherapy and radiation for lung cancer. The side effects had been minimal and Grandma was feeling pretty good. Thanksgiving was only a few days behind us and we were all looking forward to Christmas. On Monday November 28th, Grandpa was watching Monday night football in his back room when Grandma asked if she could watch the game with him. Something she had never done before. Of course Grandpa gave an enthusiastic yes and they watch the game together. Grandma wasn't a football fan so she was asking questions like, "why do they keep hitting each other". Grandpa says that they had a great evening together and that Grandma said she was feeling a lot better and that she said, "I think I'm going to beat this Al", referring to her cancer and heart troubles. Grandpa says Grandma's voice was very strong that night and that she was walking with ease. They gave each other a kiss good night and Grandma walked down the hall to go to bed. Shortly after Grandma went to sleep she woke up and was calling for my Grandpa saying she couldn't breath. Grandpa came to Grandma's bedside, dialed 911, and the rest is history. Grandma died at home with her husband of 61 years by her side. Just as the last hours of Grandma's life played out in the context of a strong and loving marriage the days following Grandma's death were anchored in a strong and loving extended family. My Aunts and Uncles gathered to help my Grandfather deal with the logistics of Grandma's funeral and planning the funeral mass. Cousins gathered to share stories of Grandma and the entire family gathered together on Friday night for a party that turned out to be so much fun and so tight knit that we can hardly believe it. Grandma must have been with us. The pictures below are three gatherings (parties) that we held. The first two photos are from a gathering Thursday night of Grandma's grandchildren. The other two groups of pictures were taken after the funeral reception on December 2nd. The first set of pictures were taken at the Village Pub in Main Main Strauss Village located in Covington Kentucky. The second set of pictures were taken at my Uncle Gary and Aunt Reina's house. Eric's reflections on Ruth Lonnemann (grandma) Ruth Lonnemann Memorial The Mass Celebrating Ruth Lonnemann's Life December 2nd, 2005

Cousins and spouses	Cousins and spouses	Molly, my sister. Michael, my cousin.	Nick and Julie, to be married in 2006.

My mother with Nick and Julie.	From left to right: Andrea, Julie, Kim, Molly, and Laura.	From left to right: Tim, Me, Nick, Michael, Jacob and my Mother!	Check out Nick's expression.

Michael and Kim.	Julie and Nick.	Laura and Tim.	Me and my cousin Laura.

Kim lines up her shot. Someone once told me pool is 90% confidence.	Humm, no enough confidence?	My mother and I.	My cousin Jacob and my sister Molly in the background.

Cousins, Molly and Andrea.	Eric Blom, photo taken by Molly.	I think I made this shot. At least that is how I want to remember it.	The whole crew.

Left to right: Nick, Michael, Jacob, and Eric.		My nephew Phoenix.	Mom and Dad.

Uncle Gary and Brigitte.	Brother in-law Todd and Laura.	Uncle Mike and Aunt Karen.	Love the camera Julie!

Love the chocolate Uncle Gary.	Uncle Gary and Julie.	Mac and Zoie.	Laura, Cole, and the dog Honey.

Laura and Cole.	Brigitte and Mac.	From left to right and clockwise: Mike, Susan, Karen, Dennis, Reina, Gary (in front).	Cole.

Ariel.	From left to right: Big Mike, Little Mike, Karen, Kim, Andrea, and Jacob.	Aunt Reina and her son Nick.	From left to right: Aunt Reina, Julie, Uncle Gary, Nick.

From left to right and clockwise: Aunt Reina, Julie, Uncle Gary, Nick, Tim, Laura (in front).	From left to right: Mac, Brigitte, Phoenix, Cole, Todd, Ariel.	Todd and his daughter Ariel.	Julie and Mac.

Laura and Cole.	Then dancing has begun.	Aunt Reina and Ariel.	Cole, A.K.A. The Dancing Machine.

Cole's gun slinger pose.		Cole will be playing Tony Manero, originally played by John Travolta, in the remake of Saturday Night Fever .	Checkout Ariel's expression.

Cole even tumbles.		Check out my Dad on the right.
Click on a thumbnail above to see a larger version of the picture. The pictures in this gallery were taken with a Nikon D70 Digital SLR camera. Any use of these pictures without permission from the photographer is strictly prohibited. Email me to request permission to use any of these pictures or if you would like a higher resolution version.

Last updated: 1/1/06