DeDe

The past few weeks have been a blur. We are just now starting to get back to our "normal" schedule, and in some ways it still doesn't feel real. But we lost our DeDe this past month. She was 87.

I most admired her outspoken nature. As my dad put it, "she said what she meant, and she meant what she said". When we were first pregnant with Southern, before knowing he was a boy, we had the name Julia on the top of our list for girls' names. We are very fortunate to have had so much time with her, and I love that our boys loved her so much. Southern has often said, just out of the blue these past couple of weeks, "I miss DeDe". She will be greatly missed.

We normally visit Yoakum and family often, but since Southern has started school, we have been so busy that we haven't gone as often as we'd like. We now have school 5 days a week and church 1 day a week, so that only leaves 1 day free, and most of the time we'll have a birthday party to attend that day or some other thing going on that causes us to stay in New Braunfels. The last time we visited with DeDe in Yoakum, we went with her to Manetta's house for lunch. We visited with her at her house after the lunch, and I remember sitting with her in the living room and talking as the boys ran in and out of the room with various toys. Southern told her about school, and we just made small talk. As we were leaving, she made sure to pass out a box of animal crackers to each boy. (She always had some on hand to give them when we visited) That was in mid-Sept.

Since then, we talked on the phone quite often. (Dustin would call her almost every day on his way home from school to chat, and he had gone into Yoakum to mow her yard and share supper with her more recently). We would also send little drawings that the kids had made and/or pictures to her in the mail. The boys got Halloween cards from her with a $1 bill in each. But we didn't see her in person again until the day we got a text from Dustin's dad saying DeDe had been life-flighted to the heart hospital in Austin.

I picked Southern up from school as usual, and on the way home I told him what had happened to DeDe and that we were going to go visit her. Her surgery had gone well, and things were looking up. We were at home just long enough for the boys to make pictures for her. Southern drew a picture of DeDe laying on a bed with a doctor wearing a mask holding scissors standing nearby since I had explained what the word surgery meant. He also drew hearts around it and colorful squiggly lines. He added his and DeDe's names to the top. Remington said that he thought DeDe would want a RescueBots picture, so he found one in his coloring book and colored that for her. It was a picture of Blades and Boulder. He wrote his name on it.

When we made it to the hospital that evening, we found out that no one under 12 could visit DeDe in the area that she was in, so the boys were very disappointed to be left in the waiting room. Allan was still there at that point, so they were kept busy playing with him. But Southern was so heartbroken not to be able to see DeDe. Dustin and I delivered their pictures and visited with DeDe. She looked weak but was very mentally sharp and was making jokes/being sarcastic like her usual self. We were all smiles during our short chat. She made it a point to thank Dustin and to thank me for coming to see her, and she was tickled to hear that the boys were in the waiting room. She named them each and told their ages to her nurse. It was a great visit.

We then went back to the waiting room after having been told that they were moving DeDe to her own room soon and that we could visit with her again after the move. It took a couple hours until Dustin was able to see her again. Allan had already gone home, so I was in the waiting room with the boys. They were tired, hungry, and grouchy, but I am so glad that we did that. Dustin said his visit with her then was even better than the first one. And we were able to FaceTime with Dustin's phone and mine so that the boys could see and talk to DeDe. Southern and Remington told her hi, that they hoped she got well soon, they loved her, and bye. Baylor squealed, smiled, and waved a lot. She had an oxygen mask on, so Southern said she looked super cool - just like Darth Vader. It was a late night, the boys fell asleep on the way home, and we left feeling upbeat.

Sadly, things went downhill rather quickly after that, and DeDe passed away a few days later. On the morning of the day that she passed, Southern, quite ironically, had a Jump for Heart event at his school. The kids jumped rope to raise awareness and funds for the American Heart Association, and Southern jumped in DeDe's honor. I was there during the event, and he was so proud to jump for DeDe. When I picked him up from school that afternoon and told him of DeDe's passing, I said that we were all really sad and that we would miss her alot, but that at least she was with Poppy now. He had been in Heaven waiting for her, so they were probably really happy again. Southern thought about it for a bit, and then he said, "One day, when I die and go to heaven, DeDe will be waiting for me".

DeDe holding baby Remington. She and Manetta had made a trip over to our house not long after Remington had been born to see him and grab a few snuggles.

DeDe with three-month-old Southern. I love this picture.

Southern and DeDe having a little chat.

DeDe would always walk us to the door as we were leaving and wave us off from just inside her front door. This picture captures such a great moment.

DeDe with Southern and Remington

Fixing Southern's hair for the photo

A goodbye hug from Southern as DeDe left our house from a visit

A summer beach vacation with our little family, DeDe, and Mikayla

On the ferry

A hello kiss from Southern to DeDe before eating lunch at Los Cucos in Seguin

Snuggles with baby Baylor

Remington didn't want to put his animal crackers down long enough to take a picture ;)

Remington's 3rd birthday party

With DeDe on her 87th birthday. I had made her birthday cake the night before, so we dropped it by her house that day. After happy birthday greetings and a quick chat, we "made the rounds" in Yoakum before heading to Victoria for her birthday dinner with the rest of the Wyatt family at Baytown Seafood Restaurant. We then went back to her house that evening for cake and ended up hanging out with her until 11pm! DeDe was not a night owl at all, and I had never seen her stay up that late, but we were having too much fun to leave. She told Nola the next day that she was tired, but that she had a blast.

Me and DeDe. This photo was taken about a decade ago on Thanksgiving. DeDe was always my ally.. looking at this picture reminds me of the frank chats we always had. Things weren't easy in the beginning with everyone in Dustin's family, but DeDe loved and accepted me from the start. I remember going to lunch at her and Poppy's house with Dustin during high school not long after we started dating. They had asked him to bring me so that they could meet me. They were so welcoming. And when Dustin and I moved in together in college, I overheard her and Poppy telling Dustin to marry me! I had gone to the bathroom and was just walking back when I heard it. They said I was the one for him :) Since Dustin had lived with them for a time after his mom's passing and was always so close to them, they called him #4 Son. After our marriage, DeDe called me #4 Granddaughter.

~Darlene Wyatt~ YOAKUM: Darlene Julia Wyatt was born in Yoakum, Texas on July 26, 1927 to Roston and Lilly Burkett, and passed away on November 25, 2014 at the age of 87. She and her husband Earl Franklin Wyatt were the center of the Wyatt family's universe for almost 70 years. She is survived by 3 sons, Terry Wyatt (and wife Andrea), Allan Wyatt (and wife Dori), and Wayne Wyatt (and wife Cain). She will also be greatly missed by her 6 grandchildren: Matthew Wyatt, Kelly Wyatt, Dustin Wyatt (and wife Lindsey), Carly Park (and husband Robert), Coltin Wyatt, and Mikayla Wyatt. DeDe as she was called by her grandchildren and great-grand children, was the proud matriarch of 4 great-grand children, Southern Wyatt, Remington Wyatt, Baylor Wyatt, and Claire Park. Darlene is also survived by her sister, Manetta Hairell and her sister-in-law, Dr. Georgia Hitchcock. Nola Clay has been invaluable as her assistant, her eyes, her legs, and as an adopted family member for the past 4 years. She chose the name DeDe in 1982, upon Dustin's birth, in attempt to preserve her youthful attitude of being too young to be called "Grandma". And so it was, for the last 32 years. She was always too young to be old! Her feisty and vibrant spirit was a rallying point whenever the Wyatt family had a project, a Boy Scout function, or a deer camp to put together. She was her beloved husband Earl's Second-in-Command, and "Chief Cook and Bottle Washer" until his death in 2010. Darlene was an excellent cook and had a fondness for crystal. No pet or homeless animal was ever turned away from her house. She posted a list of all the family's important dates, of birthdays and anniversaries. Even if the whole world would forget your day, DeDe made a telephone call and had a card in the mail for you. Visitation was 4 to 6 p.m. on Sunday, November 30, 2014 at Thiele-Cooper Funeral Home. Funeral service was at 10 a.m. on Monday, December 1, 2014 at First Lutheran Church in Gonzales. Burial was at Yoakum Restland.