Memories of Skinny Lizzy

I mentioned my Grandmother in the previous post . I wanted to share a little more about her. Her name was Elizabeth O'Malley (aka Gramma Betty, aka Skinny Lizzy). Her mother and father came from Galway, Ireland but she grew up in Manhattan. They lived in the basement of a building on the Lower East Side where her father was the super intendant. He was hit by a street car and killed when she was still pretty young. I'm not sure what her family did to make ends meet after that, but she told me she worked as a typist after school to pay for her high school tuition.

Her graduation photo. She was born in 1924 so I am assuming this is about 1942

These "Useful Birds of America" trading cards belonged to her. They were made from the late 19th century through the 20s so she must have been pretty young when she started collecting  them. Some of them may have even been her mother's.

"For the good of all, do not destroy the birds"

Gramma Betty loved to read and sing.  When I was young she would read to me every night and then sing me to sleep.

She loved PBS and would always donate to the pledge drives. Because of her generosity, they sent her enough promotional canvas totes to "choke a horse," as she would say.

As liturgist in the Catholic Church, she went to church every weekday as well as every Sunday. (A liturgist is the layperson who reads the liturgy of the word at mass)

She always had tea and toast waiting for me when I got home from school. She had a Beleek tea set in the wicker and shamrock pattern that she was very proud of.

photo  by *Ann Gordon on flickr.



I want to end this on a happy note. So, instead of talking about the last time I saw her, or how she died, I am going to leave you with a  photo of us from 1986. Hopefully my mom doesn't kill me for posting this...

We were a little different.