Honoring her great-grandmother

TOTOWA  When 14-year-old Grace Corcoran was thinking about ideas for her Girl Scout Silver Award project, honoring her late great­grandmother Mary Antosiewicz came to mind. She decided to fulfill her project at St. Joseph’s Home for the Elderly here where her great-grandmother lived in her final years of life before passing away last September.

“As part of my project I chose to build a wheelchair accessible raised garden planter for the residents at St. Joseph’s,” said Grace. “With this project, I hope to remember Great-Grandma Mary and provide an enjoyable and therapeutic activity for St. Joseph’s residents. She loved plants and flowers and I wanted to do something, not only to honor my great grandmother, but also something the residents could use after she was gone.”

During the summer, Grace, a member of Girl Scout Troop 94771 and a high school freshman, received the donations necessary to build the planter. She built it with the help of her grandfather and uncle. She recently delivered the completed planter to St. Joseph’s for the residents to begin using.

St. Joseph’s Home for the Elderly is under the care of the Little Sisters of the Poor. They were excited to learn about Grace’s project dedicated to her great grandmother. Little Sister of the Poor Therese Marie, who took care of Mary Antosiewicz during her time at St. Joseph’s, said, “We thought it was a great idea for Grace to remember her great grandma. Her great grandma was very joyful that’s for sure and she loved singing. I am sure she would be happy to know her great granddaughter did this for her.”

Grace feels blessed because she got to know her great grandmother and two of her other great grandparents. Her Great Grand­ma Mary Antosiewicz was the last to pass away. Grace has many fond memories of her great grandmother, whom she would see during Christmas and the holidays. “She laughed all the time,” said Grace. “My cousins would always go up to her and she would always compliment us.”

The planter stands outside near the entrance of St. Joseph’s and according to Sister Therese, “many of the residents were excited about it because they have gardened before in their own homes and this gives them the chance to do it again.”

For the fall season, mums are in the planter. Sister Therese said, “Once we get it up and running, we may start a gardening club for the residents. There has been a lot of interest.”

Sister Therese also notes first meeting Grace when she would visit her great-grandmother. She said, “Grace has known this place because she would spend time with her great-grandmother and you can see that her family has taught her the great love and respect to the elderly. Grace would interact with some of the other residents and she was comfortable with them. That is a beautiful thing to see in a young person. They talk to the residents and they gain a lot of wisdom hearing about their life experiences. The residents bring out the best in young people and in turn, the young people bring out youthfulness and enthusiasm from the elderly.”

This week, Grace, who has been a Girl Scout since kindergarten, will submit her project for her Silver Award. “You get to experience so many new things that you typically wouldn’t and I probably wouldn’t have gotten to meet the group of friends I met through Girl Scouts,” she said.

Grace still visits St. Joseph’s Home for the Elderly, “Everyone was always really kind to my great-grandmother there and always made sure to make her feel comfortable. The Little Sisters give everything they have.”