My Grandmother is my inspiration

My Grandmother, Catherine Campbell, just passed away a few months ago at the beautiful age of 104. She was a wonderful and devout Christian. She did so many things in her life that have impacted me and shaped my character. I would like to share several if I may.

She read through the Bible nearly every year for most of her adult life. She lead the missionary meetings at her small Nazarene church where she was a member for almost her whole life. She couldn't read music but she figured out a way to play the piano for the services when my Grandpa preached at the homeless missions in Bloomington Illinois. She helped me complete my Bachelor's of Music Education degree at IWU and generally get through my college years by occasionally doing my laundry, inviting me to meals and church. She lived most of her adult life in a single wide mobile home without complaint, making it a cosy, welcoming home. When my grandpa died in 1980, she invited my to live in one of the rooms in her home. She crocheted wedding handkerchiefs for all the ladies in the family until she had cataracts and arthritis too bad, and then she switched to knitting hand towels for all the families. She hosted the Campbell family reunion every year having married into the Campbell family. When she was near the end of her life, while my mom was visiting her in the nursing home, she said she wanted to go home. We were not positive, but we think she meant she wanted to go home to heaven. She lost her husband in 1980 and her youngest son, my uncle, around Christmas.

She is my inspiration for so many things in my life. The characteristics I've learned from her are to be a servant leader and to be tenacious.

I feel that as a business owner I am a servant to my staff in many ways. I'm learning how this works all the time. My tenacity led to winning a nationwide audition for the Disneyland Band after one audition where I did not win but was an alternate, and winning the audition into the USAF Band at the cut-off age of 35, and making it through basic training at that age!