My Grandma

a.k.a. Wild Thing

Purpose

I created this website in honor of my grandma, Esther Helweg.
I will be updating this site with more pictures, videos and stories as I collect them from family & friends. This site will remain live for at least the next 365 days (November 17th 2021) If you have something to contribute (videos & pictures) please e-mail me here. If you would like to share a story about Esther, please go to the Tribute page to submit your memory.

Intro

I will be posting updated stories about Esther on this page as I receive them (either from the tribute page on this site or from other means)

I will share my own thoughts and stories of the most amazing grandma in the world as well. Check on this page periodically to see if new stories & memories have been shared. My hope is to have snapshots of Esther throughout her life in the form of short stories and lessons we have all learned from such an incredible woman.

"Eat it. It's good for you."

Grandma trying to get me to eat dessert

Your Mother Is Always With You

by : Nita Lyons relation : Daughter
She's the whisper of the leaves as you walk down the street, She's the smell of certain foods you remember, flowers you pick, the fragrance of life itself. She's the cool hand on your brow when you're not feeling well, She's your breath in the air on a cold winter's day. She's the sound of the rain that lulls you to sleep, the colors of a rainbow, She is Christmas morning, Your Mother lives inside your laughter. She's the place you came from, your first home, and she's the map you follow with every step you take. She's your first love, your first friend, even your first enemy, but nothing on earth can separate you. Not time, not space...not even death.

Christmas Tribute

by : Carolyn Degenhart relation : Daughter
"Merry Christmas" Grandma would say each time she picked up her ringing phone or a family member entered her front door on the 25th of December each & every year of her life. Grandma put all she had into every Holiday in the desire that each of you would want & need to return to her home throughout the year...she used her best china, placed each nativity in just the right place, made sure those Christmas figurines were centered just right in her front windows, planned months in advance to purchase the biggest bird as soon as they went on sale, placed the tables together as to not seperate any of us, used her holiday tablecloths with the carefully tied gold string around each napkin, lit the centerpiece candle when the meal was ready to enjoy, planned days prior to Christmas to make her time honored ring-a-lings (making sure all family & friends had enough to enjoy before even thinking of stashing some for herself), laundering the sheets in anticipation that she would have house guests stay overnight, putting on her sparkle holiday sweater while barefoot but dressed for the occasion nonethless, the anxiety over the annual "puzzle" boxes as she looked-ordered-returned so many times as to make sure (as you all grew) it would be challenging, fun & memorable for each of you. She put all that she was into evey day of her life not just the holidays, she looked so forward to seeing each of you, hugging you and checking on your well-being - that's who Grandma is; something that we all took for granted, she had always carried and created family traditions that are now in jeopardy of being a lost treasure. The most dependable place we all could go knowing she was our foundation, to feel that total embrace of an extraordinary loving person named ESTHER Merry Christmas to her beloved grandchildren, may each of you keep her alive in your heart & in your daily activites.

Family Is Everything

by : Nicholas Degenhart relation : Grandson
Family was absolutely everything to Esther. She dedicated her entire life to seeing that her family was happy and well cared for. "No" was not in her vocabulary. Only "Yes" "Of Course" "I Support You" "I Know You Can Do It" & "Wonderful". She was an inspiration to anyone who was lucky enough to meet her. I am beyond grateful that I was able to call her Grandmama - she taught me so much without having to say a word. Her actions showed me what Love/Patience/Kindness/Dedication all look like on a daily basis. I hope she knew how great of an impact she made on my life. I will carry these lessons & her love for life with me always, and I will try to be the role model to my daughter that my grandmother was to me.

Wild Thing

by : Nicholas Degenhart relation : Grandson
I will elaborate in a subsequent post but the short story of how my Grandma got the nickname, Wild Thing I was between 6-8 years old when I visited the Arizona home my grandparents had for the first time. It was located on the Arizona River, they had a dock and a small boat. My grandmother convinced me to get into the intertube with her while my grandpa drove the boat. They could see I was apprehensive so they came up with a system to tell my grandpa whether we would like him to speed up or slow down. This calmed my anxiety knowing that I would be able to slow the boat down when I felt it was going too fast. The sign? Thumbs up = Go faster & Thumbs down = Go slower. We started off slow and it was a little scary for me but I felt safe with my grandma in the intertube with me. After about a minute, my grandpa started speeding up slowly. We got going pretty fast (at least for a little kids first time on a river in an intertube). I started to get anxious and put my thumb down for grandpa to slow down, but the boat just kept going faster. I turn around to see my grandma with the biggest smile on her face and her arm high in the air with that thumb sticking straight to the sky...and this is only half of her daredevil antics that solidified her nickname as Wild Thing. Second half to come....