HAVING THE LAST LAUGH IS THE ETERNAL GIFT
Joseph Neil McGinnis III EXECUTIVE EDITOR EMERITUS
Not a day goes by that I don’t think of my late, missed, and much-loved friend. Not a show goes by that I don’t hear echoes of her advice, her opinions (she had many and wasn’t exactly reticent about sharing) and her in- fectious chuckle. And not a Maltese goes by that I don’t think of our many discussions of that breed, and, truth to tell, the people in it. Everything she did, she did with a sense of humor; therefore we were a match from mo- ment one. So it is high time that I tip my hat to the amazing Ingela Gram, my good buddy for too many years to count. The fact that I never officially said Good- bye to her in print stuns me to this day. I’d been dreading the day she’d leave us ever since we’d learned she might. But through a long period of ups and downs, healthwise, I never sensed anything but optimism in her voice or saw it on her face. She was an inspiration to all fighting similar demons. She was also an inspiration to all who love dogs. So the prospect of facing days without her in them hit me so hard that I wasn’t up to the task. Unable to yet face it, I put it off. I apologize to her. I feel terrible remorse. She would’ve said I was being silly (and probably would’ve also said
“Oh, nobody reads those damn things anyways.”). Ingela Maria (Hoegberg) Gram, a resident of Mystic, Connecticut and Jupiter, Florida, beloved wife of the late Deacon Hans Jakob Gram, died March 21, 2018, at the Jupiter Medical Center in Jupiter, surrounded by her children. Born in Stockholm, Sweden, Ingela was daughter to the late Ake and Karin (Lilljequist) Hoegberg. Her eventual move to the States is looked upon by friends as one of the greatest inter-national gifts we ever received. Ingela was an avid yachtsman in addition to other hobbies and interests, but her dogs always occupied the top berth. She certainly made waves as a breeder/exhibitor, and dogs under her Foursome banner made memorable wins. Ingela was involved in Bernese Mountain Dogs, Maltese, Poodles, and Pekes and did admirable work for all. One of her favorite memories was her first Pekingese Club of America national. She won Specialty Best in Show. But she gave back as much as she ever got. Ingela did a huge amount of club work and was a popular mentor to many lucky fanciers. And I stress “lucky” because that’s what we were, to have a learning experience under someone with incredible knowledge and such a fabulous attitude. One of my favorite Ingela stories happened long before I knew her. Ingela was flying back to Sweden with a recent purchase, the first Maltese she ever owned. As she approached customs, she reviewed her paperwork and realized she had the forms for one of her Pekingese instead of those for her latest charge. Regardless, she was cleared through to her destination without a hitch. In telling me the tale, she said “I guess he didn’t know the difference between a Maltese and a Peke.” I guess he didn’t have a mentor near as good as Ingela. In fact, few of us ever do. Love you forever, lady. Thinking about you today made me cry. But it also very much made me laugh.
Photo taken at Progressive Dog Club, New York, February 2016, courtesy ShowSight Magazine.
28 • T op N otch T oys , O ctober 2019
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