Eulogy by Valerie Walker O'Brien on the occasion of the passing of her 
maternal grandmother, Garnette Barnes Biggers.

As I raise my children, I am often brought back to memories of my own 

childhood, and to realizations of how the people around me shaped my life.  

Things that may have seemed mundane or insignificant at the time were 

learning experiences and emotional events for me.  I remember the feelings of 

love I associated with your home; the cokes and creamsicles Granddaddy 

kept downstairs, the smell of sawdust in his woodshop, the time he filmed the 

moon landing off of the TV in your basement, your dry, witty sense of humor 

and your possession of what to me was an endless fountain of knowledge 

about important issues and history. 

I think sometimes we humans wonder:  does my life mean anything?  Have I 

left any kind of an impression that will live on after I'm gone?  That question 

may be almost impossible for us to answer about ourselves, but others can 

give us some idea of the answer from their point of view.  I want you to know 

that you have indeed left an indelible impression on my life.  Part of who I am 

is you, and I'm thankful for that. And Granddaddy, too.  I know we all have 

shortcomings and nobody's perfect but that's an important part of life also.  

Each generation can hopefully expand on the positives and diminish the 

negatives of the last.  I consider that to be the evolution of a family, and it 

goes on for as long as that family exists.