In Loving Memory of Grandma Dorothy Rupe

My maternal grandmother, Dorothy Rupe, went to be with the Lord this past Monday afternoon. The family is gathering in Chicago next week to celebrate her life. The full notice and obituary is linked here; in lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to Chicago Voyagers. 

I have so many memories of Grandma, and I’ll share two small ones here.

First is from one evening in August 2007, when I was still living at my parents’ house and Grandma came over for dinner. I was in the midst of packing as I was just days away from starting my freshman year at Wheaton College. As Grandma was leaving she said good bye to each of us in turn and to me she said, with great enthusiasm, “Have a good last few days before you head to Wheaton College!”

Grandma was always so proud of me for being at Wheaton College, first as a student and then later a few years as a staff member. A few years after I graduated, I was rewatching some of the video of my class’s commencement ceremony, and noticed something special that I again remembered this week. There was a moment toward the end of the ceremony when President Ryken invited all the graduates’ mothers to stand (as that day was Mother’s Day), then the fathers, and then the grandparents. The camera captured my Grandma standing, proudly waving to me on stage. She’s in the lower right, wearing pink.

And second is from the last time I saw Grandma. It was this past Thanksgiving when Naomi and I were in Chicago for the holiday. Thanksgiving dinner was at my uncle Bernie’s house, and Grandma specifically asked Naomi to sit next to her at the table (given Naomi and I had lived outside of Illinois the last three years at that point, plus the pandemic limiting holiday gatherings, the two of them hadn’t had any real conversation for a very long time). I’m grateful that my whole family has been very welcoming of Naomi since before we married in 2016, but I was particularly touched that Grandma specifically asked for Naomi’s company at what would be one of her last holiday gatherings.

Rest in peace, Grandma. We love you and we miss you.