Did you have a good role model to follow when you were growing up? Our children need a loving and true family role model to follow in their developing years. This will help them grow up to be a stable contributor to society and raise respectable families to honor the family name.

One of my most important role models when I was growing up was my Grandmother, Mattie Broadhead. Gramma Mattie was a true lady from the Victorian Era, always prim and proper.

She was one of 7 children and had a difficult childhood. Her mother died at the age of 29 and left Mattie to help her Father raise 6 siblings. At the age of 16 she cooked biscuits for the entire town of Valier, MT. Working most of her life on the farm, she showed a strong work ethic and convictions. When she was 53 her husband passed away and she came to live with my family.

Nicknamed “Easy Going Broadhead,” she didn’t take herself too seriously, another reason for her longevity. She rarely fretted or worried about things she didn’t have control of.

Gramma was always my buddy! I miss her very much and not a day goes by that I don’t recall one of her sayings. Spending time with your elderly family will enrich the lives of you and your children. It will brighten their lives and help them deal with the trials of old age.

Gramma lived to be a Great-Great-Great Grandmother before she passed away in 1998. She will always live in my memory as someone I looked up to.