Anna Margaret McKittrick Calla

My grandmother, Anna Margaret McKittrick Calla, was born just outside of Philadelphia in 1923 to Scots-Irish immigrants. She met my grandfather, Henry Calla, in 1948 and married him six months later. After they were married they moved to West Chester, Pennsylvania and had two daughters (Wendy, my mom, and Cindy). In 1968 my grandfather was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease and my grandmother took care of him until he died in 1995.

Anna Calla was a strong, funny, kind and loving woman. The fact that she was such a great person made it all the more difficult to watch her decline. Despite the hardships, I still am grateful to have had the chance to know her and have her in my life.

My grandmother, Anna McKitrick Calla (bottom, left). She is about one year old in this picture. Her father, Joseph McKittrick traveled by himself from Ireland when he was 16 years old. She's about 8 years old in this picture. 12 years old She's about 23 years old here. My grandmother was made of some tough stuff. My grandparents met and married in six months. This is them on their honeymoon in Boston. Hank and Anna dressed up for a wedding. At the park with Wendy (my mom) and pregnant with Cindy (my aunt) This is one of my favorite pictures. My grandma was so funny. My grandma had a great sense of humor. Confession: My grandma played the accordian Beautiful inside and out. At my Dad's graduation ceremony. That's me. I was pretty cute. Taken not long after my brother was born. I was 6. She spoiled me so bad. This was taken a few years after she was diagnosed in 1997. She moved in with us in 2002 and deteriorated farily quickly. As the pictures progress, you can see in her facial expressions how she's sort of started disappearing. Having fun at Senior Care. The braclet she's wearing had information about where she lived in case she got lost and didn't know where or who she was. In order to give our family a break, my grandma would often spend Christmas at my aunts house. This was her last Christmas before having to move to the nursery home. It became too difficult to take care of my grandma, so we were forced to move her into a home where she could have 24/7 care. By this time she was mostly gone. Sometimes she would recognize us, but I knew she did not know who we were. You can see the dramatic difference in the way she is here compared to how she was just a few years before. It was difficult for me to see her this way, so I did not visit very often. This was a difficult day. At Lake Placid in Upstate NY. This is my favorite picture and it's how I like to remember her.