Mary Sato Yamashita, my grandmother

On June 26th, I received the news that my grandma Yamashita had been diagnosed with liver cancer and had no more than three weeks to live. Because I had just had to quit my job, this gave me plenty of free time to be able to travel down to see my grandma before she passed away. It was hard to say goodbye to my husband for a couple of weeks, but it was good to have that time with my grandma.

I traveled down with my brother and his family, who were moving to Las Vegas. I was able to spend the weekend with my sister and all of the family that came in to see my grandma. I just have to say that my family is amazing. My grandparents had four children, sixteen grandchildren, and 32 great-grandchildren with two more on the way. Every single grandchild made it to see my grandma before she passed away. From Utah all the way to Florida. It was amazing to see this legacy come to life. When we first got to the hospital, my grandma was tired, but doing okay. She had accepted that she was going to pass away and was ready. That Sunday, we squeezed all of the family that was there at the time and helped my grandma to receive the sacrament one more time. We sang some hymns, took the sacrament, and listened to my grandma's testimony. What an amazing woman and what a spiritual time. I will always cherish that time with my grandma. She gave great advice. Here is my favorite.

My brother, sister-in-law, nephew, sister and I were in with my grandma. She started to tell us about an article that she found...on Facebook. It said to never yell at your children; always whisper. Then she got really quiet and kind of leaned forward and said, "It scares them more." It was great!

I said my final goodbye to my grandma on that Monday and traveled down to Las Vegas to stay with my mom. My grandma passed away peacefully on Saturday, July 6th at the home of my aunt and uncle, surrounded by family. The following weekend was supposed to be our K. Yamashita reunion. It became not only the reunion, but also the weekend to put my grandma to rest. My dad rented our family a condo in St. George and we were able to stay all together. It was a hard weekend, but it was great to be with family. The legacy will continue forward with this family because we are a Christ-centered family. I am so grateful for the knowledge I have of eternal families and that I will be with my grandparents again. I am grateful that my grandma is able to be reunited with my grandpa and my other grandma, who was her best friend. She was definitely ready. I love you so much, Grandma, and love that you are able to take care of my baby before I am able.