Book of Me: Grandparents

Week 7 of the Book of Me, Written by You blog prompt series.  I've fallen behind!

     Maternal Grandparents

     As a child, I spent a good amount of time at the home of my maternal grandparents, Roy and Betty (Huyler) Albea.  Roy was born in Greenwood, South Carolina, moved to Greenville as a young teen and then to Atlanta after his parents' divorce.  Betty grew up in Atlanta, but moved back and forth between there and Greenville, where she and Roy met.  They were married in 1947 when Betty was only 15 years old!
     After moving around for a few years, they finally settled down in Atlanta.  Roy worked as a truck driver for Overnite and Betty was a housewife.
     Together they had six children, which they raised in a few different neighborhoods around Atlanta before settling in Decatur.  As their grandchildren arrived, they kept the family close by hosting Sunday dinners and major holidays. Roy and Betty were very proud of their grandchildren and I cherish the hand-made present that my Grandmother made for me throughout my childhood.

Paternal Grandparents

     I didn't see my paternal grandparents, Thomas and Sarah (Britt) Craft, as often as I saw my maternal grandparents.  Both of them grew up in farming families; Thomas' family in Elbert County, Georgia and Sarah's in Emanuel County, GA.  Sarah moved with her father and brother to Elbert County as a teenager and met Thomas when he drove her school bus.  They got married in 1940 when Sarah was only 14 years old!

     They lived on a farm in Elbert County for a number of years and moved to Tucker/Lilburn, Georgia after World War II.  Thomas got a job at Atlantic Steel in Atlanta and ran his own sanitation company, while Sarah worked at a Package Store.

     Together they had seven children, the youngest born 22 years after the oldest.  When we visited, we always knew that we could find canned Cokes in the fridge and candy bars in the kitchen drawer.  The entire family would get together each Christmas Eve, which was always a full house.  When I remember my Granny, I think about her paining my fingernails; when I remember my PawPaw, I think about him giving us rides on his John Deer.