Same Name, Same Commitment

Mamie Irene Tripp Gates and Patricia Irene Mastagni Friedman

August 16  marked the 121^st birthday of Mamie Irene Tripp Gates, my paternal grandma. On August 12, her granddaughter and namesake, Patricia Irene Mastagni Friedman passed away. Patsy, as our family often referred to her, battled multiple myeloma for over half a decade. She did so with a quiet grace.

Only the morning after Patsy’s death did I notice she and Grandma shared the same middle name. Their middle name “Irene” means “peace.” I remember speaking with Patsy around the time she began undergoing treatments. She explained she felt a peace about beginning the rigorous ordeal of fighting cancer. As I compared Patsy and Grandma, I recalled meeting Grandma’s beloved Dr. Lauvetz over two decades after her death. He had successfully treated her for many years. When he found out I was her granddaughter, he exclaimed, “She was the salt of the earth!” Much like Patsy, Grandma faced the treatments with a resolute peace. Ironically, they both exuded “peace” during the trying times of their treatments, just as their middle names depicted.

I “inherited” many of Grandma’s photos that were “unchosen” after her death. I categorized them in envelopes labeled with the names of my father’s siblings. I pulled out the envelope with Aunt Martha’s name on the front. There was a touching photo of Grandma and Patsy on her wedding day.

Grandma and Patsy on her wedding day. They were
good wives, mothers,  grandmothers, and carried 
themselves with an understated poise.

Not only did Grandma and Patsy share the same middle name, but they both remained firm in their commitment to marriage. The marriage of Grandma and Grandpa lasted 54 years until his death. Patsy stayed true and loving to Gary, her husband of 51 years, until her own death just days ago.

Grandma and Patsy dearly loved their children and grandchildren. Grandma worked with Grandpa as they provided for their large family during one of the most difficult economical and adverse climate situations ever to plague Oklahoma.  In one of our phone conversations, Patsy was thrilled to feel strong enough, amid her treatments, to care for her two youngest grandchildren.

These two precious women lived day by day the verse from the Apostle Paul’s letter to Titus, the young pastor, teaching the new followers of Jesus on the island of Crete. Titus 2, verse 5 stated, That they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children. The next verse ends with “…so that no one will malign the word of God.”

Oh that more and more people in our society realize the eternal value of marital commitment and the necessity of rearing children peacefully with love and consistency! Just as Grandma and Patsy honored their shared name, every one of us must “live up to our names” – if we call ourselves “Christians” or “little Christs.” Never should our inconsistent obedience dishonor God’s Word. Instead, may all who observe us know we serve the Lord by our actions and words.