On September 30, 2006, my grandfather passed away. So now on the anniversary of his death, I'm going to post a few thoughts about him.
First my grandpa was a great man. And I really mean that. He was this terrific guy who had the ability to make everyone around him feel special and cared for. After he died, at the viewing and the funeral, I heard so many people say how much they admired him, that he was one of the greatest men they'd ever met. It just amazes me how many lives he touched and how many people he affected just by being himself.
He loved children and (lucky for me) especially grandchildren. The picture below is the only one of him I have on my computer. He's wearing my cousin Kennedy's hat and winking at me. He always seemed to be half-kid and it was always so easy for children to talk to him and be around him.
He loved the Lord more than anything, loved his family and when he was younger, fought and almost died in WWII. He lived his life devoted to God and no matter what circumstance he found himself in, I never heard him complain.
The night he died, my whole family was in the nursing home with him. I went home just a few hours before he passed away. It was really hard to see him looking so sick and fragile. He was completely unaware of what was happening. But at the same time, it was also really special and sacred to be there, to be in the room with someone who was moments away from kneeling before Christ and entering paradise.
On a side note, if you're ever at a funeral, and a 5 year old tries to open the deceased person's eyes to see what it looks like, and realizes that they won't open, don't let them open your eyes instead. I did this, and the day after the funeral, my eye was swollen. I always figured it was a reaction to the makeup, or maybe bacteria from my grandpa that did this. But today, it was brought to my attention that it could have been the bacteria not only from my grandpa, but also all of the other dead people that the makeup had been used on that could have caused my eye to swell. The thought of all of the other people's bacteria kind of freaks me out. Hopefully I won't have any weird dreams now that I'm thinking about it.
5 comments:
Gross.
I miss my grandpa too. Grandpas are the best!
How do you manage to make me cry and laugh all in one blog?
I was recently at the funeral of a family friend and heard the story of how your grandpa explained the plan of salvation and why he believed it, all while lying under a car (pretending to fix it). That man then raised his family in a Christian home. One of his daughters is now my sister-in-law.
Your grandpa was definitely a most amazing man.
First half of the post....SO SWEET!
Second half of the post....SICK!
Ok Jen not supposed to make me cry in front of my boys. Brought a flash of memories back to me as well.
Wow you are a mean sister and a mean daughter.
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