09/05/2026
My grandma, Eleanor Stern, passed away yesterday in her sleep. She was 99. She was the last of my grandparents to leave the earth. This picture was the last time I was with her...2 years ago when my wife and I were passing through Nebraska, during our move back to St Louis from Cali.
When I think of my Grandma, I will always think of her strength, her German boldness, her fierce love for her family, and.....gummy bears. I remember as a kid, she was the "gummy bear" grandma because she always had gummy bears in her purse. (As opposed to my Grandma Hensold, who was the skittle grandma).
But most of all....I will remember her legacy.
She (and Grandpa) were:
-Missionaries to Kenya in the 50s,
-Nigeria in the 60s,
-Inner-city Detroit in the 70s,
-Church planting in the US Midwest in the 80s,
-Germany and Eastern Europe in the 90s,
-back to Kenya to start an orphanage in the early 2000s,
- and there's probably more that I'm missing sprinkled in between all of that.
I will always look back in admiration of her faith. She lived her life in full belief and conviction that God was good and that Jesus was the answer.
So. Much. Respect. I'm deeply thankful for the heritage, the live she lived, and that I am connected to her story. I know without a doubt that if she lived her life differently, my story and life would also be wildly different.
I love you Grandma. Thank you for being who you were. Thank you for raising my dad the way you did. Thank you for loving your family so well, and thank you for believing in Jesus.
Miss you, and say hi to Grandpa for me!
