After more than a year’s absence following a debilitating stroke in 1976, the tenacious Ellen Corby returned to her beloved role as Grandma Esther Walton in one of the most touching The Waltons episodes ever, “Grandma Comes Home.”

Ellen was only 67 in November of 1976, when the Waltons cast and crew, in the middle of filming the Season 5 episode “The Ferris Wheel,” noticed that she hadn’t shown up for work. Knowing that Ellen was never late, Will Greer (Grandpa) immediately sensed something was wrong and went with some producers to her house. They found Ellen at home and immediately took her to the hospital, where she was treated for a stroke.