Shirley Ann Knudsen

Born: December 15, 1931, Hemet, CA     Died: September 14, 2014, Gilbert, AZ

This beautiful lady passed away last month. I know she is rejoicing on the other side with Grandpa and other family members. She was an amazing lady. Mother of 9, Grandma of 39 and Great Grandma to 52. She has left quite a legacy for us to follow. Whenever I saw grandma she would-without fail tell me how beautiful I was. I know she said that to all her granddaughters, but it always made me feel special. It was just what a insecure teenage girl needed to here. I knew she loved me and that I was important to her. Grandma had the gift of making others feel loved and important and was able to bless many with that Christlike attribute. 

Grandma was a woman of MANY TALENTS. She was good at anything she did. She was a cake decorator and caterer. Later in her life she decided to try real estate and was very successful. She was an amazing quilter and made sure all of her grand kids and great-grand kids had a beautiful quilt. Not to mention raising 9 kids (I can't imagine!)

Grandma won a beautiful baby contest with this picture

The lovebirds. Grandpa absolutely adored Grandma.

They were young and in love. So, what do you do when you want to get married at 17 and your parents won't let you? Elope to Las Vegas of course. Later that year they were sealed in the Saint George Temple.

My Mom in the middle

All the kiddos kept getting sick and needed their tonsils out. The hospital did all seven kids at once for publicity. It was in the local paper.

Grandma was lonely as a child. both her parents worked long hours and her siblings were much older. Because of this she decided she wanted a big family. She had 7 kids and wasn't able to have anymore. She wasn't done though. She adopted Kent and Lisa.

Kendall and I flew to Arizona for the weekend for her funeral. I saw so many cousins that I haven't seen in forever! It was wonderful to spend time with family and reflect on Grandma's life and the memories we have of her.

6 out of the 7 Kelley kids attended, as well as three brother-in-laws

8 of the 9 Knudsen kids

25 of the grandkids

The latest 5 great grandchildren (Melissa, Me, Annie, Andrea and Danielle)

Erik and Kendall getting to know each other

It was fun going through old pictures. Here is my Mom's senior picture

My Mom and I in 1983. A mini-Luke!

Mom and Dad's engagement picture. I've always loved this one.

Kendall at 10:30 pm at the Oakland Airport. She looks happy, but she was not. Mean Mama keeping her up so late and making her travel!