Brenda Hughes

Brenda Gail Hughes A loving Wife, Mother, Grandma & Great Grandma 🩷

Hey there this is Kennedy her Granddaughter. I would love for everyone to know who my beautiful Grandma was and what she meant to this family. This is her eulogy but it’s more than that it’s words straight from my heart that I hope honor her for years to come. My Grandma was my best friend and the woman who molded me into the woman I am today.

“My family & I would like to thank you all for coming today to celebrate the life of a loving wife, mother and my beautiful Grandma, Brenda Gail Hughes.

Whether you haven’t seen her in 2 years or 2 months we are all here because in some way she impacted all of our lives. She probably prayed for you, loved you and if you were really lucky you probably got scolded by her once or twice. She was a mama and a grandma to all and one of the best friends you could ever have.

When you walked into her house you were automatically family and that meant you were never going to leave her house without drinking one of those cold canned Pepsi and eating a pack of cheese crackers or whatever snack she had in the cabinet which was usually anything she could pull off the shelf at the grocery store. Papa would walk through the front door and it would look like a little Debbie truck had dropped off its shipment right on our kitchen table. She loved to pick up little things off the shelf’s that she thought was “just so cute”. That was one of her favorite things it seemed like, to go to the grocery store. By the time I was 10 I had every aisle in Ingles memorized and if there was ever a test on the floor plan of that grocery store you can bet good money that I would’ve passed with flying colors.

My grandma was a woman of MANY words. You were going to know exactly what she was thinking right when she thought of it and after she told you exactly how she felt she’d follow it up with “but I guess if you can’t say nothing nice then you shouldn’t say nothing at all.” I heard this a lot during my teenage years.

If you saw my Grandma then you saw my Papa. The two of them were inseparable. They loved each other so much in a way that you can’t even put into words. Papa never came home from work without his color coordinated towel and wash cloth laid on his sink, his clothes were always laid out on the bed for him to put on and dinner was always ready by 5 o clock that way he was fed and ready for the next day. She was an amazing wife to my papa and loved him for almost 56 years with her whole heart. Until the very end all she wanted was her Buddy and he made sure he was always there.

When I sat down and thought about what I would say about my grandma and how I would describe who she was to me I could not pick one single word because she was everything to me. She was my peace when my world fell apart. She was my strength when I felt I couldn’t go any longer. She was my friend when I felt like I didn’t have anyone. She was my voice when I couldn’t speak. But most importantly she was my Grandma & to me she hung the moon and the stars, she was my best friend and the one person who I knew would have my back no matter the circumstances.

She was truly the back bone of our entire family and it’s hard to even imagine right now how you move on from losing someone as great as her.

The only thing I know to do in this very moment is to carry on her legacy and love that she left for this family until it’s our time to see her again. I will make a gallon of tea even if no one drinks it, I’ll make sure there’s biscuits with all our family meals even if their not homemade, I’ll be sure to tell my Papa how much I love him, I’ll make sure to polish every single piece of furniture and clean the entire house for the holidays even if it is the same 10 people coming over that just seen the house the day before, I’ll make sure there’s always a Pepsi in my fridge and a pack of cheese crackers in my cabinet and I’ll always make sure to let people know how much Jesus loves them and how much I do too. Because that’s what I think my Grandma would want. To never let anyone do without no matter what is was they needed.

My Grandma was a woman of faith who lived her life by the book but also demonstrated the love of God to everyone she came in contact with. She has truly instilled in us how to live for Jesus and how to lean on him during the most difficult times.

Grandma would write me notes and put them in my lunch box with a specific acronym at the bottom it was the letters “S G L Y A S D I”.

It meant smile God loves you and so do I. I knew she loved me and because of her love and her Guidance I know God does too and even in the most difficult times like today I know that she would want me to smile because God loves me and so does she and I will be reunited with her one day in a place that looks nothing like this and feels nothing like this. This grief won’t follow me to the grave and no amount of pain will hold me down from seeing her again. Because I know who holds my heart and I know where I’m going when I take my final breath.

She would not want any of us to be sad or to hurt. She would want you to know she can remember everything that happens, understand everything that is said to her and can walk on beautiful streets of gold without feeling any pain. Preacher Steve said something yesterday in our living room that really stuck with me and has really gotten me through last night and the hours leading up to this moment right here, “it’s okay to think about how your loss, but just imagine her gain” and it’s true she is just simply my grandma in heaven and that gives me so much joy knowing that she’s healed because that’s all that so many of us wanted for her for so long was to be healed and just be able to be Brenda again.

I encourage you all to go home hug your loved ones a little tighter, take time to laugh a little bit longer and always make sure to end your day with an ice cold Pepsi.”