Carl & Elizabeth Hirschi

I never knew these great-grandparents. My middle name is Elizabeth after my Grandma Elizabeth; the name means "my God is an oath" or "my God is abundance.” Even though Grandpa was a little rough around the edges, he had a good heart and raised two amazing sons.

Carl Edward & Gladys Elizabeth Dorney Hirschi

Kids: LaVall, Sherwood

I asked my mom, Heather Thompson to share any memories she had of her Hirschi grandparents. Here's a few:

Grandma Gladys Elizabeth:

1.  They always brought us birthday gifts (until my Grandma died).  This was special because we never got birthday gifts or cards from G&G Cheney (which I understand—they had way too many grandkids to keep up with).

2.  My Grandma got stomach cancer when I was 7.  They finally sent her home to die because they couldn’t do anymore for her.  She had to be fed through a feeding tube into her stomach and was pretty much bound to a bed or a wheelchair.  My Grandpa didn’t feel like he could care for her so she came and lived with us until she died.  I remember sitting on the bed and visiting with her—I was turning 8 in May and so we would talk about that and she told me about when she got baptized (although I don’t remember those details now).  I remember she would come to the table and eat breakfast with us when we had cream of wheat, which was the only thing she could swallow; otherwise, my mom would feed her through a feeding tube.  Looking back, I realize my mom was a saint through all of this.  She had a young busy family of her own and took constant care of her mother-in-law.

3.  I vividly remember when she died.  On Halloween night, our ward always had a huge Halloween carnival and everyone went to it—we never went trick-or-treating.  That Halloween I had tonsillitis and couldn’t go to the party…sad sad day.  That night, my dad took all of my siblings to the party and I stayed home with my mom and Grandma.  My mom surprised me with my very own carnival.  She got stuff for a fish pond and her and Grandma held up a blanket while I got to fish for prizes.  I think she had also made some cookies for me to decorate.  It’s one of my fondest memories of my mom—that she would work so hard to give me a special Halloween amidst everything else she had on her plate.  The next morning, I stayed home from school because I was sick, and my mom got all my siblings ready and off to the bus.  Then I went in to Grandma’s room with her to wake Grandma up and get her fed and ready for the day, but she didn’t wake up.  She had passed away during the night.  My mom called Carolyn Allen in our ward who was a registered nurse to come check her.  Through it all, I never felt scared or even really sad, I just knew that Grandma had finally moved on to a better place.

Grandpa Carl:

1.  He was a small man, always looked a little unkempt, with scruffy whiskers and hair that needed a trim.  He always wore jeans, leather boots, a button up flannel shirt and a leather cap (which was ALWAYS cocked to one side of his head—never on straight).

2.  He had a gruff voice—probably from smoking.  He always rolled his own cigarettes—I can still see him in my mind rolling a cigarette.

3.  When he saw us he would always ask “well whatta you know?”  Becky told me that she used to get anxiety over seeing Grandpa because she knew he was going to ask her “whatta ya know” and she never knew what to reply.

4.  He used to ride the clutch on his truck.  The truck (which would get very low mileage) would have to have the clutch replaced frequently because he rode it all the time.

5.  He was a swearin’ son of gun.

6. After Grandma died, whenever we would go to help him on the ranch, he would feed us TV dinners.  As a kid, I loved it!  I thought they were the coolest things and they were something we would NEVER get at our house.  When we were renovating the lodge and we were without a kitchen for a couple of weeks, I bought some TV dinners one night that were on sale, thinking that would be a great dinner.  You guys hated them, and I must admit, they weren’t nearly as good as I remembered them as a kid, haha.