December 26, 2020
Dear Grandchildren:
This month, I am writing about your great-grandmother, Doris Jeannette Catt. She was a beautiful, classy lady. In 1951, when Glen and Doris opened their first store in Gaylord, they were a team that made the business successful. They took over a grocery store that had just failed, and many people gave the Catts little hope they could make it. After all, the A & P was where everyone shopped. But, Glen and Doris were not only in the grocery business, but they were in the people business.
Last month, a man who knew I had worked at Glen’s Market approached me. He told me, “Sixty-five years ago, I was around six or seven, and Mr. and Mrs. Catt gave me a balloon. I can remember it like it was yesterday.” I thanked him and realized this was Glen and Doris at their best: serving people, serving families, and building their business, one experience at a time.
At their first store, Great-Grandma Doris was fully involved with everything, especially at the front end with the customers. There were many stories about people receiving free groceries when they were experiencing tough times. When Great-Grandma Doris got pregnant with Larry, she became a full-time housewife.
In 1960, I met your grandmother, Sandy, when our schools went to a band day experience at the University of Michigan. Later that year, I met the Catt family when the Gaylord band hosted our Corunna band. After that weekend, Sandy and I started going together.
When we were married in 1963, we lived in East Jordan. Our house was old, but Mom came over and cleaned, painted, and decorated our bathroom. She was amazing. She wasn’t afraid of work or getting involved. From the very beginning, I felt loved and accepted by both Glen and Doris. I’ve always felt like I had two sets of parents.
Since Mom wasn’t working at the store, she was busy with her family and other projects. She was very active in the United Methodist’s annual Christmas Bazaar. She also was very active in the cancer drive, raising money each year.
Since Great-Grandma was such a giving person, she loved Christmas, her favorite time of year. She loved the shopping channel on TV and buying Christmas presents for her family. She’d sit in her chair watching her family open their gifts. She didn’t want the evening to end. She was amazing picking out gifts for everyone, and the presents were always beautifully wrapped. Sommer shared with me that Great-Grandma paid her to help her wrap presents. She taught Sommer how to make perfect bows.
I know the divorce hurt her deeply, but it never affected her love for her family or her friends. When she moved to Florida, it was always a great time to go to Grandma’s condo. She knew how to entertain her family, especially her grandkids and their friends when they came for spring break.
Later on, when she got sick and ended up in the hospital, she always appreciated the nurses that took care of her. After the hospital stay, she’d send the nurses candy and gifts as a thank you for their care. How many people ever do that?
When I was pastoring the church in Johannesburg, Mom would come out to the services. She, along with the other seniors, really got involved in the church. I had the great honor of baptizing Mom after she made a confession of faith in Jesus Christ.
Yes, Mom was a beautiful, classy lady that loved her family very much, especially her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She’d light up a room and could make people feel at ease. Throughout her successful life, Great-Grandma Doris touched us all, and we will never forget her.
Love,
Grandpa
P.S. Before I send this letter, I had another thought about Grandma Doris and Grandpa Glen. As they lived their lives, they were living their stories. And guess what? Their stories, their legacies, are living on in their three children and their extended families. Their three amazing kids, Sandy, Glen, and Larry are living examples of their lives, and so the story of the Catt family continues to live onto future generations, and that’s the rest of the story.