A Legacy to Remember
By Laura Susic
If you’ve ever had a conversation with your parents or grandparents about their life, you know they could go on for hours about their experiences. But what are you doing to preserve those memories forever? If you’re like I was, you haven’t done much. That all changed for me when my grandfather was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He died just six days later.
Since then, I’ve started Legacies to Remember. My passion is to help families preserve their history so they can pass it down to future generations. My opportunity is gone, but that doesn’t have to be the case for you. Some great stories and discoveries can come out of a conversation with your parents, grandparents, uncle or aunt.
Consider the family I interviewed last year in Collinsville. Geno C. told me his father came to the United States from Italy. When his father asked his girlfriend in Italy to join him in the states, she said no. But her sister said yes, and that’s whom he married! Geno’s mother could have just as easily been his aunt!
Ron and Audra S. of St. Louis recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Ron gave Audra a jacket while they were dating, but they broke up and he went off to serve in the military. When he returned home from service, he called Audra’s mom to get the jacket back. Audra’s mom made sure her daughter was home when Ron came to retrieve the jacket, and the rest is history.
Most of us have at least one person that can provide many answers to the questions we have about our family’s history. Important medical history could be discovered. You may have a grandfather who tells the same joke over and over. What a priceless gift to have that on camera after he is gone. Your grandmother may put Emeril to shame in the kitchen. Imagine having video of her cooking your favorite recipe and passing that on to your daughter. Find out how your parents met, what their childhood was really like, their greatest challenges in life, or the life lessons they want to pass on. Remember their legacy becomes your legacy.
Tell your loved one you’re curious about his/her life and your family history. You’d like to capture these stories on camera so you can keep those memories preserved forever. Set up your home video camera and start asking questions. The time to do this is now. You never know what tomorrow may bring.
Here are some suggested questions
Where did you grow up?
Describe the house you grew up in.
Describe your relationship with your parents/grandparents.
How did you meet your mate?
What did you enjoy doing the most together?
What kinds of hardships did you overcome?
What was the worst job you ever had?
Who inspired you the most in your life?
What was one of your biggest challenges in life?
What are your hobbies?
What surprises you most about the world we live in now?
Share some of your favorite stories about your children.
What lessons would you like to pass on to future generations of our family?
How do you want to be remembered?