My Nanny was diagnosed with Cerebrovascular disease and vascular dementia a few months ago. She had a stroke and is not getting blood flow to her brain. Her knight in shining armor, Tuffy, is watching her along with my Mom and her sisters at their home in North Richland Hills. I made the 9 hour trek down from Albuquerque to Fort Worth to spend some time with her and my family and to say goodbye as she prepares to leave this plane for the next up in the sky with God and her loved ones who left so long ago.
The following is copied from my recent Facebook post about her…
Ruth (Nanny) Williams Cockrell is an important strong and free spirited woman in our family. She raised 5 kids mostly on her own and with the help of her eldest daughter Jane, worked hard all her life, owned a beauty shop or three during her life and had amazing adventures in the 70’s as she and her partner in crime, my Grandfather Tolbert (“Tuffy”), played their version of Country & Western Bar ‘Moonlighting’ and I’m sorry I missed out on all that fun insanity back in the day (see pic.) When I look at old pictures of her I can see why the men followed her around! Not only is she beautiful, but she is an extremely skilled artist, too: a painter, quilter, craft goddess, cat lover & homemade pickle maker, amazing photographer and a lot more. She has so many hobbies I can’t count (sounds a lot like me.) She lived in New Orleans and in a few other awesome places in her life (but mostly in North TX) and we lived next door to her in the 80’s in East Texas (after my Dad’s mom passed) just as my sister Kristie was born (‘85.) I’ll always cherish the days I spent with her as she fed her chubby grandson all the pies, fresh veggies and home cookin’ I could eat.
She’s always loved us grandkids, great-grandkids, kids and her husband Tolbert so much. She is a God-fearing woman (like her Mother) who liked listening to Country & Western music and she even played the piano when she was in a mood. She is a wonderful strong woman and she will be missed. I’m praying for a miracle but I know she has made up her mind to go to the next life, where I will one day be happy to see her again and will run to her arms and ask for another ‘fat boy’ fish-fry, with all her amazin’ fixins… and one of her famous home-made pies. All for myself! She is also an awesome cook (to put it lightly!) and I see where my own Mom got her kindness and good heart from.
Love you always, Ruth Williams Cockrell! God has got you. Always.
I’m asking for more prayers to ease her transition to the other side with grace, dignity, and pain-free joy and love. God will gain an incredible angel very very shortly, and we will temporarily lose an incredible, strong, and loving charismatic creative force on this plane. And I’ll always be her Bubba… here or in Heaven. And she’ll always be my ‘Nanny’, that will never ever change.
May my Nanny and her knight Tuffy walk into that sunset holding hands forever, searching for his golf balls and a good snapshot on her Nikon as they kiss.
Ballistik Coffee Boy. 
Leave a Reply