“At times, even in the church, zeal can lead people to issue harsh judgments and impute the worst motives to each other. These attitudes and practices do irreparable damage to the communion of the church.”
~ Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston defending his attendance at the funeral of Sen. Ted Kennedy.
VERNON — Gregoria Martinez, 94, might seem like your typical grandma. She made quilts for her grandchildren, encouraged them to go to church, prayed for them, and gave advice.
Except the Vernon grandma didn’t have just a handful of grandchildren when she died Tuesday.
She had nearly 300.
Ninety-eight were grandchildren; 164 were great-grandchildren and 16 were great-great-grandchildren — all descendants of her own 11 offspring.
That’s without counting her three stepchildren or any of their descendants — or the three great-great grandchildren currently on the way. The family purposely underestimated the total count but felt if all were included it could be as high as 500.
