Maria Renetta Angelina (Pizza) Trumbo 1920-2011

I had the privilege of giving the eulogy at my Grandmother's funeral on Monday. She passed away last week at the age of 90. For part of the service I used an old Italian Bible that she had from 1944. From it I read Ecclesiastes 9:7-10. It was one of the greater honors of my life preaching at her funeral.
By the numbers Grandma was an impressive lady. She lived for 90 years, was married for 63, had 3 sons, 7 grandsons, and 7 great grandchildren. As a matriarch she started a streak of 12 consecutive male Trumbo births, a streak that lasted until 2006 when the first female Trumbo was born in 89 years. Scientifically we know that the male seed determines the gender of a child, but as has been the case in this family for 67 years, Grandma has determined their courses.
Ecclesiastes 9, in a book which is mostly about the meaninglessness of everything, tells the reader to eat his bread with joy, drink his wine with a merry heart, enjoy the spouse who he loves, and to take pleasure in his work. This was Grandma's modus operandi, and it was this sort of robust life that she passed down to her family. Her Italian blood gave her black hair, an assertive nose, a propensity for good food, and the volume level at which she and her family live life. Its not just any family that can get away with giving their mother/grandmother the nickname "Poopsie".
There are some coincidences that happen in life that are too strange for fiction. Thomas Jefferson and John Adams both died about an hour apart from each other on July 4, 1826 - the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Grandma worked at Dodger Stadium from the day it opened in 1962 until 1987. My Grandmother's funeral was on Monday - the same day on which the LA Dodgers declared bankruptcy.