A reading from the book of letters, from the all grandchildren.

Dear Gran,
You were a wonderful person, cherished by all of your grandchildren. You were an anchor for each of us, someone we depended on for comfort. Comfort found in a quiet chat, or in your reassuring presence. You always accepted us we were, which gave us the confidence to be happy, to be ourselves. We never needed a material comfort blanket, we had a living blanket, it was you.

Gran, thank you for taking an interest in everything we did. We could tell you anything, and you never made us feel like we were boring you. Even if we were. You made us feel important. You would laugh with us and laugh at us. You made us feel better about ourselves and who we are. You always asked about our friends and how they were. Even if you hadn't met them, it didn't matter. You wanted to know every detail of our lives and the friends we had.

You always wanted us to try our best at anything we did. You have passed the strong values of morality, religion, work ethic and etiquette to our generation and each of us have been influenced by the inspiration you provided.

Gran, you were the foundation of our family tree. We always loved sitting with you in your home, it would make us forget about our worries. Your house was a pit-stop, a second home to all who needed it. It was an outlet for tears, curses, good stories and hugs. You were the one to call, if we wanted to know anything about the current affairs of the extended McKenna clan. You reminded us of birthdays, special occasions, things we had forgotten. The powers of the grapevine!

But you were more than just an understanding grandmother and friend. You were a philosopher, an historian and an adored human being. You had an opinion on every aspect of life. Whether we agreed with you or not, although we usually did, we loved you for it. You had many attributes to your nature. You were wise, with profound views, strong but also gentle. You absorbed the media and always knew what was happening in the world on any given day. You didn't watch rubbish on TV, but instead preferred to keep up to date on news and current affairs. You probably knew more about what little johnnie was doing than he did!

One aspect of life we will never understand is your knack of deciphering the extremely complicated puzzles of Wheel of Fortune. Or the amazing hands of 500 you would play. Monopoly and Scrabble were always a highlight of our visits. We always had great fun. When we naughty we were put in our place, with a precision that our mothers couldn't manage. We were lovingly nurtured, as you relived the days of your motherhood. When we were hungry, you would make us your special homemade sausage rolls among other treats. A knitted jumper was never far away, to keep away the winter chills. Whenever we were sick, unhappy, stressed or just tired, you would calm our souls.

Because the Canberra kids lived so far from Melbourne, spending time with you was always so special. You would come and visit us wherever we were living. You would help Mum and Dad out, when times were tough. And every time you came to visit, we would conveniently get sick so we couldn't go to school. Sometime we actually were sick. Once we had chicken pox for two weeks and you just happened to arrive in Canberra at just the right time. You would make us boiled eggs with toast soldiers to make us feel better. And it always did. Other times we weren't sick when you visited but we pretended we were so we could spend time with you. Not all grandchildren would want to chuck a sickie to hang out their grandmother, but we always did. You would take us for walks and buy us treats and doughnuts. And a doughnut or two for yourself too. It was always such a special time having you around.

As we grew older, your visits to see us stopped, but we would come to visit you in Melbourne instead. We loved being able to pick you up and take you out for lunch at your favourite hotel, the Foresters Arms. Since moving to Melbourne a couple of years ago, M loved coming to your house the day after a late night out. Not only would M debrief you on her night out, you would also cook chops and the best mashed potato and pumpkin in the world. It would automatically make any hangover disappear. The best night's sleep was always at your house.

You had a long and rewarding life, giving birth to four beautiful daughters, four teachers. We thank you for raising them to be such incredibly strong, amazing mothers and aunties. Each with their own personality, but each displaying characteristics of you and all having the strength and wisdom that you did. We know that with you gone there will be a big gap in the live of our mothers and aunties. While you are no longer just at the end of the phone for them, we know they will be able to speak with you just the same. The grand kids will be at the end our mobiles, trying to provide support for them, just as you did. We won't be able to fill the void you have left, but we will try to be a lifeline to them, just as you were.

Gran, now that you are gone, we know that we will feel empty without your physical presence. But we feel blessed when we think of the years we were privileged to share with you. There are so many things we will miss. Relaxing chats in your cosy comfortable lounge room. Delicious dinners followed by banana and ice-cream. I'll miss my knitting lessons and the card games. We will cherish every memory given to us; from your seemingly endless lolly jar and your frequent laughter to the way you always had time for everyone.

Even though your passing will affect us all and we will all mourn in different ways, we will all smile when we think of you. A foundation of our family tree has passed on, but we will build new foundations from the legacy that you have built in your life, an endless love of our family.

There is so much that has been unsaid, but all the adjectives in all the dictionaries could never portray the person that you were. You have been taken to a better place where you will watch over all of us, family members and friends alike. You always looked so peaceful when you sat on your lounge and talked with us. That is how we will remember you. May you Rest in Peace, you will forever be in our hearts and minds.

All our love,