Woman, kids love morning routine
<p>"Gramma" Jean Livesay, 86, gets a hug from her neighbor James Francis on Friday morning, June 12, in Kalispell. Jean has been waving to students from the window of her Wyoming Street home for two years. For the last week of school she made a sign for her front yard and for Friday, the last day of school, she moved from her window to her front yard to wave at students and parents as they pass by. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
The morning routine for Jean Livesay starts pretty normally: Wake up, dress for the day, get some toast or maybe some coffee and sit down at her window overlooking Wyoming Street in Kalispell.
Where things get a little different is when more than a dozen children make sure to wave to “Gramma Jean” on their way to school at Russell Elementary.
For three years, Livesay has been a fixture on the path to school, and children — as intuitive as always — have made it a morning point to give her a wave and smile.
“They make my whole day,” she said. “Sometimes I’ll sleep a little late and I’ll spring up and try and get to the window before they pass.”
Livesay, 86, moved to the Flathead from Helena three years ago. She worked at Buttrey’s Super Market for 19 years until she retired and she now lives with her daughter, Lori Livesay.
It has become so much of a morning routine to see her school kids heading to class that she put up a sign in her yard thanking them.
“Thanks for the smiles and waves see you next fall Gramma Jean,” the sign reads in block letters.
Livesay placed the sign outside all the last week of school, prompting one parent to thank her for her “job” as a greeter.
Julie Morstein, mother of Edgerton Elementary student Grayson Morstein, said it was the least she could do to send flowers to Gramma Jean.
“We drove by her house every day, and I noticed my daughter was waving to this woman in the window,” Morstein said. “I asked her how long she had been waving and she said about a year.”
Morstein saw Gramma Jean’s sign on the lawn and called Flowers by Hansen to deliver a bouquet.
Livesay, who is on oxygen, said the best part of her day is waving to the kids. But the flowers were a nice plus.
“It gets the day off to a great start,” she said. “I’ve got maybe 15 I wave to, and a friendly bus driver.”
The Livesays are originally from Fortine, but have found the transition to Kalispell (and their “retro” house) an easy one.
“This is such an amazing place and it brings her so much joy,” Lori said of her mother. “It’s a great exchange of communication that you can only find in a small town.”
The whole waving routine was kicked off by a neighbor boy who came over to the Livesays and greeted them.
“He was our first greeter,” Lori said. “He gave me a hug. He just kind of spurred the whole thing.”
A wave to the neighbor boy soon became a wave to “the girl in the blue car” (Grayson Morstein) and others.
“Mom gives some of the kids nicknames, like Twinkle Toes,” Lori said. “That was the girl with light-up shoes. She’d say, ‘Oh, here comes Twinkle Toes!’”
Another woman who takes her son to school every morning in her wheelchair is a regular recipient of a morning greeting. Livesay sometimes goes out on the lawn, and in special cases — such as Halloween — can even give out little goodies and stickers to “her” kids.
But don’t worry about Livesay during the summer break. With 21 (soon to be 22) great-grandchildren, she will have plenty of waves and smiles to hand out to keep her skills sharp for next school year.
No matter what time of year, a friendly greeting is always welcome at Gramma Jean’s house.
Reporter Ryan Murray may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at rmurray@dailyinterlake.com.