under the age of 2. She also cherishes
memories of travels taken with anoth-
er grandson, Micah Redmond, who
died in a traffic accident in 2012.
Last fall, several of the grandchil-
dren – including one of the infants
– went to Disneyworld in Florida.
Disney is a favorite destination of the
couple, including Scott Sanders, who
the family says is a “total Disney junk-
ie.”
Several years ago, the oldest two
grandchildren went to Ocean Springs
to learn about artist Walter Anderson.
They lounged around a fancy pool,
bought some pottery, and visited a
museum dedicated to the artist.
Before they went to the Mississippi
Gulf Coast, Sanders said she had
the grandchildren sign a “contract,”
promising several things. They had to
agree not to stay on their phones too
much, not to bicker with each other,
and also to do what their Gigi asked
to keep them safe and the trip running
smoothly. There was another import-
ant rule – they had to bring Gigi a
Starbucks from the hotel coffee shop
first thing in the morning.
“I thought that was a good thing to
throw in there,” she said, laughing.
On another trip, Sanders took the
grandchildren to Southern California.
They visited Disneyland, Universal
Studios, and several other popular,
seemingly kid-friendly destinations.
But it was a trip to Ronald Reagan’s
presidential library that really wowed
the kids, she said.
“They really enjoyed it,” she said.
“The people working in the museum
did a good job of helping them get
interested, telling them some of the
things that Ronald Reagan was doing
at their age. They … ended up saying
it was their favorite part of the trip.
That was a little bit of a surprise.”
Sanders also was able to take one of
her French-culture-loving grandchil-
dren to Paris, France to see the Eiffel
Tower, as well as other areas. She
made the trip to mark her 60th birth-
day.
“The older ones really couldn’t miss
that much school,” Sanders recalled
of her Parisian birthday trip. “But
one of my granddaughters, Zoey, has
been obsessed with the Eiffel Tower
and just everything about France – the
food and the fashion and the language
– since she was little. I decided that
was how I wanted to spend my birth-
day – with Zoey in Paris.”
On that trip, Zoey’s parents and
18•
Top: Jeanie Sanders and grandchildren Allie and Joshua Redmond leap on the
beach in Ocean Springs.
Bottom: Zoey Tucker, Joshua Redmond (holding Zoey), Allie Redmond and
Jeanie Sanders below the Hollywood Sign landmark in Los Angeles, California.
Opposite page: Kinley Hollingshead held by grandfather Scott Sanders, Jeanie
Sanders and Zoey Tucker at Magic Kingdom at Disney World.
Jeanie Sanders marked her 60th birthday with a trip to Paris, France, with
granddaughter Zoey and her husband, Scott, seen at the Eiffel Tower.
Jeanie Sanders with granddaughter Zoey in one of the iconic red telephone
booths seen throughout England. Another London attraction, the Big Ben
clock, is in the background.
TIMELESS MERIDIAN