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- The following was posted by her grand daughter Kim Workman to Facebook on June 3, 2023::
"40 years ago today my Grandma Workman passed away. Isola Gertrude Kepley Workman was 95. I was nearly 23 when she died. My dad was the youngest of 8 children and she was almost 44 when she had him. I am the youngest granddaughter. Grandma was always old to me, an old fashion grandma with her hair in a bun, always wore dresses with a full apron, bonnet and had her stockings knotted @ the knee. She had old fashion shoes- one pair for work and one pair for church. She slept on a feather bed and it took a lot of strength to fluff it everyday and you did NOT sit on her bed. The only time it was sat on was family reunions when the house was so full that the bed was a gathering place for the woman to visit.
Grandma survived the death of one of her children. Zelma was 5 when she died. Grandma was devastated and couldn't get over it. Grandpa told her to pull herself together because there were other kids to raise. I can't imagine how sad she was. She also lived in pain for years with gallbladder disease.
When my mom and dad were married, dad was shipped to Germany (Korean War) for 18 months. Mom stayed with grandma and developed a tremendous love for her mother-in-law.
We lived across 3 or 4 20 acre fields and I would take the lease road (always bare foot) and cut across the field to her house. I spent lots of time at grandmas. She had ice cream...and I liked ice cream. Her grandson (still alive at 93) was a candy man and he always kept her in a box of Milky Ways. (once in a while I would sneak a candy bar and eat it in the bathroom)...she always had peppermints in her clothes drawer and golden delicious apples in a basket… she could peel an apple, and never break the peal ring (that always amazed me). She made bread and butter pickles (yum), squash pies and homemade jelly. She always had sugar cookies (more like hunks of flour) in a pink Depression Glass cookie jar on her table. My long time friend, Rhonda Hoke, loved those cookies. Grandma had a water jug in her fridge, probably an old Karo Syrup bottle. Everyone drank out of that bottle, we didn't worry about germs back then.
She was a hard worker. Since she never had air conditioning she would get up early and get her work done. She loved her chickens and her huge garden and strawberry patch. There was never a dandelion in her yard. She had a paring knife that she would use to cut them out. Grandpa Workman (who died way before I was born..my dad was in Germany at his passing) tried to teach her how to drive. She wrecked the car and never drove again. The old car sat in a fence row @ her house and we would pretend drive many miles in that car. I still remember how it smelled, how large the steering wheel was and how soft the seats were.
She always had flowers and had a swing hanging from her tree. She spent many hours in that swing. I remember on Mother's Day 43 years ago swinging...the next day I gave birth to Reid. As a child I loved playing dress up in her robes (I don't think she ever wore them) and loved playing in her barn, cellar, pasture, chicken house..her upstairs and her whole farm...always barefoot of course. When I spent the night (on her couch) she would wake me up early with a bacon sandwich...I was never a breakfast eater and she just couldn't understand that...she made me eat the sandwich...I still remember how it tasted..well done bacon. I loved her caramel corn (made with sorghum )& put in a huge metal dishpan and I loved the peanuts that she roasted for us. When I was older I would mow her yard and she had so much stuff to mow around...she would come out and hold the swing back for me to mow under...it's a wonder I didn't run over her.
She had 2 different collies that I can remember. Pepper and after Pepper died she had Pedro. They were her constant companions. Grandma was always trying to tell me stories about the past and I didn't care about that when I was young...but now I would give anything to have a day with her again to hear the stories. The most important thing grandma taught her kids was to love the Lord. She didn't talk about God, as I remember, she just lived it. I never remember her ever raising her voice and she never talked about people. She would sit in a little chair by her window and read her Bible. My dad still has that chair. Every Sunday we would pick her up and take her to Ingraham Christian Church. Out of the 7 kids, all but 1 went to church. My dad and his brother are the only 2 kids left. My dad is 92 and Loren, his brother, will soon be 95. Oh how the time flies. If you have grandparents living you should revere them, cherish them, respect them and listen to them because they will be gone in a blink of an eye. I felt guilt when grandma died...I hadn't spent enough time with her, didn't help take care of her when she was ill. I vowed not to let that happen with my other grandparents. I kept that vow and helped them until they passed away. It took me 27 years before I could go back to the house/farm where she died. My friend Rhonda Hoke and I went inside and the wallpaper was still there, the flooring, the bathroom still smelled the same. It gave me a sense of closure. Oh how I miss grandma, I see her in my dreams a lot and hopefully if I go to heaven, she will be the first one who greets me. It's through tears that I write this, she was so special."
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1887 - 1983 (95 years)
