My Friend
Genie
There were so many descriptions for my dear friend; devoted
daughter and sister, beloved aunt and loving cousin but that is the personal
side of her character, she was also an advocate, ordained minister, prayer
partner, confidant and trusted accountant. Genie Hargrove cherished those
people who are considered easy to love but she also showed great compassion for
those with problems, the individuals that are sometimes forgotten by society, to
include those with mental and physical limitations.
Otto and I met Genie thirty years ago and she served as our accountant for
years; she understood Otto's technique of bookkeeping and she was able to guide
him through the difficult process of remembering complicated facts and figures
while he worked long hours as a contractor. He was able to keep up with
multiple bank account balances in his memory and she was amazed and terrified
sometimes by his methods of remembering significant details.
She laughed every year when he entered her office with all his pertinent tax
information and various receipts in an overloaded and dilapidated cardboard
box. She made him promise to do better the next year, and of course he agreed,
but some things never change.
Genie was the Pastor at Beulah Baptist Church; following in the footsteps of her
dad. She referred to herself a "chosen baby" because she was adopted, as were
her siblings, but she always counted it as a blessing that she was selected to
join the family of Billy and Harriett Hargrove. She was also a talented
musician and photographer.
Genie loved the holidays and was an avid collector of nativity scenes; during
the Christmas season she posted pictures of her collection and it was a complex
compilation. She had thirty or more sets and enjoyed displaying each
arrangement every year.
For a time Genie entertained her friends on Facebook by posting pictures of her
friend Buddy, her gnome travel companion. Buddy accompanied her on trips to
Macon, out of state and to visit NuWay Wieners where she so enjoyed the food
offerings; Buddy became locally famous and we looked forward to their shared
travels.
Just before Otto transitioned to Heaven, Genie came to visit him and our family
even though she was ill herself. She was wearing a mask to protect herself
because she was in active treatments for breast cancer but before she left, she
removed the mask for just a moment to be sure that Otto knew it was her. Her
love had no limits and she had more compassion for those she loved than she did
for herself.
When Genie was diagnosed with cancer, she adopted the saying "inittowinit" and
it summed up her way of dealing with that particular adversity. We watched and
prayed as she endured treatments and surgery, and continued to fight the disease
that invaded her body. We miss Genie Hargrove and think of her everyday but we
know that she did actually win, she gained her heavenly wings, and is now our
ultimate prayer partner.
Brenda S. Brown