My grandmother, Helen Turlington, passed away this week. She had a lifelong love of learning and reading, which I have inherited. She held two graduate degrees. She introduced me to Chinese food. One of my best memories is of a trip I took when I was 14 years old with my aunt to meet my grandparents, who were returning from the Philippines. We went to Hong Kong, China, Thailand and India. We stayed mainly in missionary-furnished lodgings, which were pretty bare-bones. I learned to love Thai food, Indian food, strong tea with lots of milk and warm orange soda on that trip.
Historical events my grandmother witnessed firsthand: the Chinese Communist Revolution and the Iranian Revolution. Other countries she lived in as a missionary: India, the Philippines and Japan. Read her full obituary here.
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shannon.turlington AT gmail.com 
Shannon,
Thanks for sharing about your Grandmother. Like you, she seems to have been a well-read and interesting person! I bet she had some amazing stories to tell! I wish you and your family comfort as you say goodbye to a precious one.
Sorry for your loss. My condolences.
It’s very hard to write a blog entry when someone close to us passes away, but, at the same time, it’s something that whoever goes through this heartbreaking experience and regularly writes a blog feels that needs to be done. I liked how you kept it short and simple, how you mentioned about your best moments with your grandma and her experience of the world. I really like the passage in which you say “I learned to love Thai food, Indian food, strong tea with lots of milk and warm orange soda on that trip.”