Today is my Grandmother's birthday and I can't help feeling sad that she is not here with us on this day every year.  I think perhaps writing about her and what she meant to me will help me to feel a little bit better.  Also, by talking about her here, I keep her memory alive forever even after I'm gone.  That is the beautiful thing about the written word, it lasts for all eternity.     Sarah Marie Walker was my maternal Grandmother.  She was nicknamed Sally by her father and the name stuck through to adulthood.  Her parents, Francis and Elizabeth already had a son named James when she was born and had another son, Edward, years later which made her their only daughter.     Sally was raised in a devout Catholic household by her Irish mother and English father who had been forced to convert from being Protestant when he married Elizabeth.  Her father was a Merchant Marine so he was away most of the time and she helped her mother with her younger brother since she was much older … [Read more...]