Greed Over Grief

Illustration by Jasmine Gallman| VOX Staff

By Stephanie Smith
VOX Staff

I’ve always wanted to have money — a lot of money. But there has to be a limit on what a person is willing to do to get it. I don’t love money to the point where I would let it divide my family, but that is what happened.

Some of the adults in my family seemed to think it would be cool to spend my great-grandparents’ riches rather mourn their deaths. Although I was young at the time, I knew that what was going on wasn’t right — the fighting and the arguing over money. What a disgrace.

It started early one morning in December 1998 when my great-grandmother died of breast cancer.

My great-grandmother had always been the glue that kept our family together. Her death brought us even closer because we came together to console each other and started spending more time together. Everyone was still sad many months after she died, especially her widower.
Less than a year later, my great-grandfather also passed away. It caught everyone by surprise. His birthday was supposed to be a week later. Instead of a party, we held his funeral.

Everyone was dressed in white. We were all comforting each other: hugging, telling everyone that it would be OK and gathering together at my great-grandparents’ house. It started out all supportive, but it was only a small matter of time until the fussing and fighting over the money began.

The Big Split
When my great-grandmother died, no one was greedily snatching up any riches because my great-grandfather was still living. However, after he passed, it was a different story. Shortly after his funeral, my grandmother and my great-aunt were arguing over who would get the house.

Although I was only 8, I remember that none of my family went by the will that was left for them. Instead, everyone was arguing and screaming at my grandmother and great-aunt; they were making the biggest fuss over their parents’ valuables. When they couldn’t come to an agreement about who would get what, they just started taking things on their own. My grandmother ended up with my great-grandfather’s car and a ton of his money. My great-aunt also got a bunch of the money and prized items such as furniture, appliances and old photos. After everything was finally claimed, the two went their separate ways and stopped talking to each other. That really tore my family up.

What was truly sad is that my Uncle Jimmy (their brother) received nothing. He didn’t fight over the riches that were left behind. What he did try to do was make some peace between my grandmother and my great-aunt. It took many years before the family made up.

Lost Memories
During that long period of silence, ignorance and anger, many touching family moments were lost such as Christmas holidays (where everyone used to come together to make family movies), Kwanzaa (where everyone used to take turns lighting candles), Easter (where everyone used to hunt for eggs together), Thanksgiving (where everyone used to cook together, then stuff their faces full of food) and birthdays. It made me really sad because my family meant so much to me. I was still close to my grandmother, but I missed my great-aunt and her immediate family. I wanted everything back to normal.

My family has since reunited, and everyone is speaking again. What finally brought us back together was a family reunion planned by a different side of the family who no one had beef with. We laughed, danced and took pictures together as if nothing ever happened. But all of the drama could have been avoided if greed hadn’t taken over my great-aunt and grandmother. The experience taught me to put the important values in life first.

For me, family comes first. I try to be patient and respectful toward them. When we argue, I try to be bigger person and let it go because no matter what, we are still family. I never want anything to come between my family again.

Stephanie is a senior at Carver High. She can’t wait for college.