We will miss you dearly...

Our dear Grandma and mom passed away suddenly on May 4th. We have all been so saddened by this and we will miss her so, so much.

Dan flew out to Utah next day to be with his family and help his dad with all the arrangements. The kids and I decided to drive out to Utah for the funeral. We had a great time driving and everything went really well. Dan skipped his flight home and drove home with us so the drive home went really well too, and we finally tried Culvers on our way back--really yummy shakes and burgers.

The funeral for Grandma went so well, it was a beautiful service and Dan spoke and did an excellent job. Abby played the piano, Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring, and she did a great job. Grandma had been to our house just a couple months earlier and heard Abby play that song and said she wanted Abby to play that at her funeral. None of us knew it would be so soon, but it was very special to have Abby play it. On our drive out the kids talked about Grandma and wrote down some things they will miss about her:

• she sent me emails about things she thought were cool.
  
• loved to hear me play the piano and never noticed the mistakes.
  
• Always played Barbies, coloring, and reading with Estee. Always happy to watch Estee for us.
• miss her easy laughter
• she loved to be with us
• Abby remembers her perfume
• she loved to talk to any of us, very interested in our lives.
• she bought us fast food.
• She would make delicious breakfast for us.
• she let me suck my thumb
• we loved sitting around the dining room table and talking with Grandma
• She told us if you put butter and cinnamon and sugar on toast it taste good, it was.
• I remember when we went and stayed with her, and it was so much fun, loved how when we got ready for bed she would talk to us for hours in our beds.
• she would try and give us the shivers
• I remember how we went camping with her in the desert, that was fun.
• when Grandma came to Michigan once the girls went and got pedicures, Grandma's first, and she talked the whole time to the guy who barely spoke English. She asked him "do you like your job?" he said "no, but the money is good" it was funny.
• I remember how she was so nice to me when I was little.
  
• Grandma loved chickens and held them like babies.
• She taught us how to play strawberry point rummy and played it with us.
• she would blow on you and say she wasn't touching you.
• she loved babies especially her grand kids!
• if you told her she could do anything in the world for a day--she would spend the day with us.
  

We had a nice visit with family while we were out in Utah, we saw a lot of relatives we haven't seen in years and it was so great to see them all. The kids had fun seeing cousins they have either never met or haven't seen in ages. It really made us all excited to move back to Utah. We wish Grandma was still there and we could spend time with her. We are glad she is not suffering any more and is peacefully watching over us here on earth. We love you Grandma and will miss you always.


Janine Holmstead Ward (1954 - 2010)

HYDE PARK - Janine Holmstead Ward, 55, of Hyde Park, Utah, passed away suddenly on May 4, 2010, after an extended battle with cancer.
Janine was born on Aug. 27, 1954, six minutes before her twin sister, Jalaine, to Earl Guy "Hap" and Leah Holmstead. She was the fifth of nine children and loved to talk about her childhood spent with her siblings and cousins in Logan. She was proud of her heritage and enjoyed the opportunity to share a room with her twin sister and immigrant Swiss grandmother, whom she loved dearly. She graduated from Logan High School in 1972, and while working at Utah State University she met Preston Beales Ward, whom she married on Sept. 12, 1973, in the Logan LDS Temple.
Janine's life was spent serving those around her. She was a devoted and active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served in numerous callings, including Relief Society president, Cub Scout leader and Young Women's leader. Her favorite place was in the Primary with the children. She loved meeting her former Scouts and primary children and took great joy seeing them years later and hearing their kind words of appreciation. She loved music and although often reluctant to share her talents, her family enjoyed her frequent piano playing and singing.
Janine loved life and the people in it. She was a friend to all and strived to make the lives of all around her better and happier. All who knew her were brightened by her smile, her kind words, and her listening and patient ears. She was incapable of condemning or judging others; instead she radiated optimism, compassion, and charity to all around her. To know her was to love her.
The last few years of her life were difficult as she endured multiple surgeries, hospitalizations, and treatments for her cancer, all without complaint. She suffered much during this time and her family takes comfort that her pain is now over. The family thanks the physicians, nurses, and medical personnel who compassionately provided her care over the past few years.
She is survived by her husband, Preston; and children, Preston Daniel Ward (Janie) of Ann Arbor, Mich.; Bradley Beales Ward; Lindsay Brooke Ward; and Amalia Marie Mouritsen (Cody). She is also survived by her twin sister, Jalaine, her parents, her siblings, and five grandchildren. Her grandchildren were her greatest joy in life and she was looking forward to living near them again. She was preceded in death by her father in law, Karl E. Ward
Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, May 11, 2010, at noon in the Hyde Park Center Street church. A viewing will be held on Monday, May 10, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Allen Mortuary of North Logan, 420 E. 1800 North in North Logan, and prior to services on Tuesday at the church from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Interment will be at the Smithfield Cemetery.