Grandma Walton

One of the great challenges of older age - especially significantly older age - is feeling a sense of contribution & purpose, feeling like we are leaving behind some form of legacy.  Got me thinking about how beautifully television portrayed the invaluable roles of Grandpa & Grandma Walton - and even they had times when they felt more a burden than a blessing on their family!

Got to remembering when Ellen Corby suffered a stroke & Grandma Walton was written out of the show for an entire season.  It was Ms. Corby who fought to return to the rigors of the show, in spite of partial paralysis & impaired speech.

Bravo to the producers, that they saw the wisdom of Grandma's return. But then, they were used to taking Ms. Corby's advice on her character - she'd spent the early years of her Hollywood career as a script girl & throughout her life wrote quite a few of her own.  She showed a clear understanding of Grandma Walton, adding a liberal helping of pepper to what could have been just a sweet little old lady.  It was Grandma's tart comments to Will Geer's Grandpa that gave the pair depth & believability, that made them what the New York Times dubbed the "most realistic old people on TV."

Returning to the show took patience on everyone's part - she often had to do two words over & over.  But no one knew better than Ellen Corby that she could send an important message, just by showing up on the set & hitting her marks.  She was the victim of a stroke, but that wasn't enough to knock her out of life!  

As Ms. Corby said, "I realized that there were people I could reach with a message of strength through my visibility on The Waltons.  I wanted to show them that I may be 65 (less than three years older than I am - deev) and the victim of a stroke, but I can think & function.  After the first show, I was flooded with mail from all over the country.  Those letters made the struggle worthwhile."

It felt to me like Ms. Corby's strongest scenes were done after the stroke, then after Will Geer's death.  There was never any doubt that Grandma, with all her physical limitations, was the rock of the Walton family.

Maybe the episode, Grandma Comes Home, should be required viewing for every older person, for everyone who's suffered a stroke & is working their way to what now counts as normal. It's no surprise Ellen Corby was nominated for an Emmy (she didn't win, but had already won three for her portrayal of the Walton family matriarch) - it's an astonishing performance.  

What a blessing to have watched all those seasons of The Waltons with my own mother, just a year older than Ellen Corby.  What a blessing to have known & to be friends with so many older people who live fully involved lives, even if dealing with the challenges of age, even a stroke or heart attack or dementia.

It was wonderful that Ms. Corby wanted to get back to work, that the producers welcomed her & everyone made the necessary adjustments so it could work.  Good role modeling for all of us.  How many occupational therapists use Grandma Walton - and Ellen Corby - with their patients?  I know that I'll be taking a look at those later episodes, gleaning the wisdom I can from the character & the performance.  

Thank you, Ms. Corby - your legacy of Grandma Walton lives on!