Remembering Grandma Creasey: A Life of Love, Laughter, and Faith


What a crazy week!

Last Sunday afternoon, my wife and I were strategizing about how to spend a quiet day at home. With no commitments or plans, we tossed around ideas—lounging around, eating lunch, tackling some laundry…you know, that kind of stuff.

But then my wife called me back. I could hear the concern in her voice: “They’re doing CPR on Grandma...”

In a blur, we raced home, jumped into the same car, and sped to the hospital. Hours later, we received the news: Grandma Creasey had passed away.

There is a silver lining. There is no doubt where Grandma Creasey is right now—she’s with Jesus.

The rest of the week was a whirlwind of funeral arrangements, visitation, and the service itself.

As I sat in the funeral, I couldn’t help but notice the consistent theme in the testimony of her life: her love for people, her infectious laugh, her unwavering devotion to family, and most importantly, her deep love for Jesus.

I found myself reflecting on my own memories of Diana Lee Creasey, the woman I, like many of her biological grandchildren, called Grandma Creasey.

July 30, 1944 — January 19, 2025

Even though I wasn’t a blood relative, she made me feel like family. After my mom passed away in 2018, Grandma Creasey told me in no uncertain terms that I belonged to her too. She insisted I call her “Grandma.”

She told me she loved me often—not because I was perfect, not just because I married her granddaughter, but because she genuinely cared about me and my life.

And she didn’t hesitate to share her thoughts. I’ll never forget one of our earliest encounters when I was reading a Harry Potter book, and she asked, “Who’s reading this trash?” (Don’t worry—she eventually came around to Harry Potter!)

I spent so many hours with her, watching TV shows and movies as she laughed, cried, and gave running commentary the entire time.

She liked her Diet Coke or Cherry Coke Zero in a bottle—not a can.

Her statements around the dinner table had us rolling on the floor during family meals.

Whenever we played games, if there was a tablecloth involved, it would slowly creep toward her until it was gone from everyone else’s side. It became such a running joke that we’d say, “Is Grandma Creasey here?” whenever anyone else pulled the same move.

And Monopoly with her? One time, I was cleaning up, beating my wife’s stepdad, only to find out Grandma had been secretly slipping him Monopoly money under the table—with my wife and her mother as accomplices. They were all cheating me!

Her Thanksgiving noodles were unforgettable, and her pasta salad—something I didn’t even like until I tasted hers—was amazing.

And our shared excitement over a good hot dog!

Of course, she wasn’t always pleased with me. One Christmas, I was being moody and decided to skip the Creasey family Secret Santa, and she made it very clear how upset she was. Let’s just say confronting Grandma about that wasn’t my favorite moment!

Even recently, my wife and our 9-year-old niece had a sleepover at her house. The next day, we all went to church together, followed by lunch. Grandma tried to “sneakily” pay for the meal during a bathroom trip, leading to a hilarious standoff with my wife.

Before Christmas, we went to a local church’s play and then to Olive Garden afterward. I sat next to her, and we spent the night picking at our food, laughing, and swapping stories.

One of my favorite memories was a running joke about opening a pizza and bowling place called Diana’s—like the Pizza Bowl in Laverne & Shirley. We’d “run” the front of the house, and Grandma’s daughter (my mother-in-law) wouldn’t be allowed to sneak any free bowling or ice cream! We never opened that place, but it became part of our shared story.

Recently, as I went through the process of becoming our church’s next Senior Pastor, Grandma Creasey kept tabs on every detail. When I was officially voted in, she said, “Grandma knew it all along.”

On Sunday evening, I was even told by a relative, that Grandma was proud of me and had been praying for me the whole time…

She wasn’t even my grandma. But she loved me as if she were.

People like that are rare blessings.

As we mourn her passing, we hold tightly to the good memories. We celebrate her life and the love she poured into us.

I’m reminded of Matthew 5:4: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”

Jesus promises to be with us in times like these. He offers comfort and reminds us that while this world brings pain, brokenness, and sorrow, His kingdom brings truth, life, and hope.

So even in grief, we cling to the joy, comfort, and peace only Jesus can provide.

Anyway, I was just thinking…