It has been quite the past week. As many of you may know my Grandpa passed away on Wednesday last week. I think most of the family knew that he was getting close to the end of his life so it wasn't a complete shock. I also think that even though we will miss him, the family was glad to see his suffering end. His health had been failing for the past few years and it was harder and harder for him to get around. I know that was frustrating to him. I'm sure he was ready to go home also. I am sure there was much rejoicing last week on the other side when Grandpa was able to reunite with his his family and friends that had gone before him.
Troy was able to come home a few days early so he could be at the funeral. We went and picked him up at the airport on Wednesday night. It had been almost a year since he had been home so it was really good to see him. We talked for quite a while about his experience so far in the Army.
Friday we headed up to Idaho for the viewing and funeral. I was able to see a lot of the family that we don't see a lot anymore which was good. The funeral was really good, I thought everyone who was involved did an excellent job. It was amazing to hear the stories and experiences that had made Grandpa who he was. A few things that stood out to me and a few of my own observations from my memories of Grandpa. His mother died when he was young and his father was an alcoholic. His father was a very mean drunk and was not sober very often. The story was told about how as a young boy Grandpa at least once had to run and hide in the orchard because his father had been shooting at him. At the age of 10 Grandpa left home and spent the rest of his growing up years living with various relatives. As a young man he was drafted by the Army and spent much of WWII in Italy. I don't really remember him ever talking much about the Army. He was always willing to help anyone and everyone with anything. He was very good at building things. I remember when we were kids we really wanted one of those adjustable basketball hoops. Grandpa decided that he could make one without to much trouble and the next thing we knew there was a hoop at our house. He also made countless toys for his kids, grand kids and great-grand kids. Grandma & Grandpa had a pool and ping pong table in their basement. Like my cousin mentioned I don't ever remember seeing them play on either table but we were always encouraged to bring our friends over as much as we wanted and play. My friends and I spent many nights in the basement playing pool. I don't ever remember Grandpa being angry. One of his motto's was not to cry over spilled milk. Getting angry when bad things happen doesn't really help anything at all. I will always remember the many camping, fishing and hunting trips I was able to take with Grandpa and the many other great memories I have of him. He truly was a light on a hill for all who knew him and I hope I can strive to follow the example he set for me. I look forward to the day that I will see him again.
Because Grandpa was a WWII vet the American Legion was at the cemetery to give the military rights. Troy was able to assist is the present of the flag to my Grandma. It was a very neat thing to watch and made me even more proud of my brother and his service in the Army. Here are a couple photos from the cemetery.
