GRAND Magazine - January 2009 - (Page 29)

Grandparents Terry (far right) and Percy Piestewa have cared for Brandon and Carla since their mother began her military training. They were 4 and 3 years old when she was killed. nations united in concern from the time Lori was listed as missing in action to the time her status was changed to killed in action. “It wasn’t just Navajos and Hopis; it was all ethnic backgrounds,” says Percy. “Everyone came together in meals, in prayer and in grieving.” With their grandchildren, the Piestewas mourn deeply the loss of their youngest child. Lori, a sister to Carlotta, Wayland and Adam, was born after Percy was told she couldn’t have more children. “She was our miracle child,” Percy says. “Her death is so fresh in our minds,” Terry says. “Being parents, it’s never over. It’s a day at a time. It’s all different now.” “Brandon and Carla are a blessing to us because they are a part of Lori,” Percy says. “We love them and remind them very often that we and their mom are very proud of them.” Before shipping off to Iraq on February 16, 2003, Lori signed guardianship papers, handing over full-time care of her children to her parents. Percy and Terry had been caring for Carla and Brandon already as Lori went through basic and advanced military training. “Lori said she needed some way to support her kids and get an education,” Percy says. “She asked me if I could keep the kids.” “She left us with two kids to remind us of her,” Terry says. “That really pulls us through. They’ll do something that reminds us of their mother—déjà vu.” (Like Lori, Carla is bubbly and Brandon, athletic.) Carla is especially close to Percy and often follows her around the house. “Carla and I sit there and talk, and I’ll cry,” Percy says. “She’ll say, ‘Grandma, do you miss Mommy?’ We console each other.” Too young at the time of her mother’s death to remember her well, Carla says Lori visits her often in dreams. When a door opens for no reason, or when it rains or snows, Carla tells her family her mommy’s spirit is still with them. “Some days she acts like a little angel, and we think, ‘Did Lori come visit?’” Percy says. “She feels the presence, and she carries this aura about her. She feels, ‘OK, my mom came to see me; I’m going to share my good feelings.’ You can feel the difference.” For 37 years of their 40-year marriage, the Piestewas lived in Tuba City, in a double-wide trailer owned by the Tuba City Unified School District, where Terry worked in the maintenance department and Percy was a school secretary. Tuba City was where the children were raised; it is where the children’s paternal grandparents, Rena and Henry Whiterock, still live. But everything changed for the Piestewa family in April 2005, when Jessica Lynch, an Army private who had been Lori’s best friend and who was wounded in the same ambush that killed Lori (and eight other soldiers in the 507th Army Maintenance Company unit), nominated Percy and Terry to receive a new home from the ABC television show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Their new house in Timberline, 70 miles from Tuba City, has all the amenities, including a Lego-inspired bedroom for Brandon, a princess bedroom for Carla, and five acres of land for their horses. Still, they miss Tuba City. “Our neighborhood was great,” Percy says. “It was a trailer court and there were many children who played together and we would often Despite generations of conflict, the Hopi and Navajo nations united over concern and grief. JANUARY 2009 GRAND 29

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of GRAND Magazine - January 2009

GRAND�Magazine - January 2009 Grand View Contents Isn't it Grand? Grand Central Tips on Teens Grand Gestures Toddler Town Help! My Grandson's Being Raised Vegan! Cover Story: Casualties Leader of the Pack Reunions Together Time Resources Grand Finale

GRAND Magazine - January 2009

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