Nessie Lister-Vial

George's granny passed away last month, I only had the privilege of knowing her for a short time, but I absolutely loved her. She was quirky, always impeccably dressed on a budget, and had a great spirit for adventure. Some people are afraid to go across the city to an unknown part of town, but Nessie was unafraid to travel the world....alone.

When she visited us for the first time, it was for 10 whole days and I was so mad at George. He was managing a restaurant at the time and worked an insane amount of hours. I was going to have to entertain and keep her company by myself. What was I going to do with her? What were we going to talk about?

We got on like gang busters. We worked the garden, went shopping, went on mini road trips, ate at fancy restaurants and hit up happy hours all over town. She was Nessie to me at first, but it quickly became Granny, and she was Granny to all our friends. She definitely left her mark on Kansas City. She said what she knew and what she felt. She held hard to old grudges and whispered conspiratorially about family gossip. That's how I got to know more about George's family!

I'm going to miss her because she instantly felt like family, like she was my grandmother too. George wrote a lovely post about her which you can read here.

Bye Granny, hope you're doing great wherever you are.

Nessie at The Capital Grille during her last visit in October 2007. 

The entire staff came out, each person French serving a different dish. 

We were showered with attention and friendship, she felt like royalty.

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On the steps of The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art with George.

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