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Thu 9/13: On Thursday morning at 3am, my granddad passed away. He refused to do the therapy at the hospital, so they moved him home on Wednesday. A few hours later he slipped into a coma and started bleeding internally. I think he was just waiting to be home. My heart aches for Dottie (my step-grandmother). They were married for 23 years and she is so lost. I'm really, really glad I was able to see him on Sunday, even though he wasn't very coherent. I do think he knew it was me and Mom, though.
Fri 9/14: Friday I took the day off and did stuff with Matt to relax. We had dinner with Annie and Dave. It helped.
Sat 9/15: Saturday morning was Grandpa's funeral. Chris and Aaron (two of my four brothers) showed up at my place for a ride down. The church was FULL of people paying their respects and it was a beautiful service. I really intended to be strong and not cry, but there were several moments of sheer, heart-wrenching beauty. I couldn't make it through Grandpa's favorite hymn, How Great Thou Art. It was already one of my favorite hymns and already had the power to move me to tears, as it really catches the essence of how I feel about my Heavenly Father and His Son. Add that to the fact that Grandpa sang it to us this year at one of our family gatherings and I choked up and couldn't make it past the first verse.
At the grave site, an honor guard from the Air Force came. Grandpa was a World War II veteran. They played Taps, and folded the flag that was draping my granddad's coffin and presented it to Dottie. I had no idea that the small gesture by the military could be so meaningful.
Grandpa was laid to rest next to his first wife, my grandmother, Patricia.
He is survived by his wife Dottie, all nine of his children, four step-children, 33 grandkids, and 15 great grandkids (so far). He left an impressive legacy of service to his community and church, of inventions and creativity, of stubbornness and conviction to do what is right, and of love for his family. The world has lost one of its truly great thinkers and inventors.
I've lost my last grandparent.
It is hard to describe how I feel. Death isn't always a tragedy. I know I'll see him again one day. I will miss him terribly, but he would not have wanted to live as he had that last month. He wanted to be active and useful his whole life, and he was incredibly bored and frustrated trapped there in the hospital. Death was a release for him, but he will be sorely missed.
After the funeral, we had lunch with the whole family, all sixty plus of us. People from Grandpa's church took us in and fed us. It really is touching how that small act of service can mean so much and show how much love they had for my granddad.
After eating we took a family picture of us. All of us.
Sun 9/16: I went to church, then came home and relaxed.
Mon 9/17: And time marches on.
( The beautiful Eulogy by his friend, Richard Reyes: )
Fri 9/14: Friday I took the day off and did stuff with Matt to relax. We had dinner with Annie and Dave. It helped.
Sat 9/15: Saturday morning was Grandpa's funeral. Chris and Aaron (two of my four brothers) showed up at my place for a ride down. The church was FULL of people paying their respects and it was a beautiful service. I really intended to be strong and not cry, but there were several moments of sheer, heart-wrenching beauty. I couldn't make it through Grandpa's favorite hymn, How Great Thou Art. It was already one of my favorite hymns and already had the power to move me to tears, as it really catches the essence of how I feel about my Heavenly Father and His Son. Add that to the fact that Grandpa sang it to us this year at one of our family gatherings and I choked up and couldn't make it past the first verse.
At the grave site, an honor guard from the Air Force came. Grandpa was a World War II veteran. They played Taps, and folded the flag that was draping my granddad's coffin and presented it to Dottie. I had no idea that the small gesture by the military could be so meaningful.
Grandpa was laid to rest next to his first wife, my grandmother, Patricia.
He is survived by his wife Dottie, all nine of his children, four step-children, 33 grandkids, and 15 great grandkids (so far). He left an impressive legacy of service to his community and church, of inventions and creativity, of stubbornness and conviction to do what is right, and of love for his family. The world has lost one of its truly great thinkers and inventors.
I've lost my last grandparent.
It is hard to describe how I feel. Death isn't always a tragedy. I know I'll see him again one day. I will miss him terribly, but he would not have wanted to live as he had that last month. He wanted to be active and useful his whole life, and he was incredibly bored and frustrated trapped there in the hospital. Death was a release for him, but he will be sorely missed.
After the funeral, we had lunch with the whole family, all sixty plus of us. People from Grandpa's church took us in and fed us. It really is touching how that small act of service can mean so much and show how much love they had for my granddad.
After eating we took a family picture of us. All of us.
Sun 9/16: I went to church, then came home and relaxed.
Mon 9/17: And time marches on.
( The beautiful Eulogy by his friend, Richard Reyes: )
