In Grandma Hildur's own words, written at age 87

A while back I uploaded the personal, handwritten history of my beloved grandmother, Hildur Westhed. Many peope have been in touch and said they enjoyed reading it, which I am sure Grandma would have been very proud to know! But that history was in Swedish, and now Dad has found another handwritten personal account from Grandma, this time in English.

Hildur Westhed, 100 years old

I love looking at this document. When I see her handwriting, it feels like she is still with us. She wrote this personal account in 1996, when she was "merely" 87 years old. But as those of you who had the privilege of knowing her personally, you know that she lived to be 101 1/2, and she was one of those people who managed to be young their whole life long, no matter how they may age physically. Despite spending her last years in a nursing home, she was forever interested in other people, in the details of their everyday lives, and was always quick to laugh. Also, despite being legally blind, she continued to write all through her life as well, including letters and cards in both English and Swedish.

Here is her own story, picking up from when she married my grandfather, Oscar, in 1943. (Scroll down to a previous post if you can read the Swedish, since that begins from when she was very young!)

Grandma's History Westhed Branch by Rachel Stenback