A tribute to Grandpa.......

The following was written by my aunt and read by my mom at my Grandpa's funeral last Friday. Our family has had so many compliments regarding the service, it was a wonderful service with several humorous stories about his life and I think a true example of the kind of man he was, what he meant to our family & the community...


Our Dad was…

Our dad was devoted…Our mother suffered from Alzheimer’s disease for 20 years before she passed away. Once when making his daily visit to the nursing home to see her, he was asked by an aide why he continued to do this year after year when she no longer knew who he was. He replied that he still KNEW her and he took a vow 50 plus years ago that said until death do us part.

Our dad was frugal…A few years ago when dad was thinking of replacing his false teeth, he asked his doctor how long he would live, because he wanted to make sure he got his monies worth out of them! He never threw anything away. After living through the shortages of the Great Depression, he was sure that those empty boxes he saved could be used for something some day and in the meantime walking around them was no great trial.

Our dad was independent…Dad told me once that he planned to live just long enough to walk out to his grave, and he did. That is one of the reasons I am confident that he would be happy with the way he left. He was still strong and able to do the things he wanted.

Our dad was courageous and compassionate…During WWII dad was scouting for his convoy when he and his buddies were pinned down by a similar size group of German soldiers. One of the Germans had been shot and was trapped between the two groups. Dad stood up and to the dismay of the other American soldiers, who were protesting that he would be killed, he went and got the German soldier and pulled him to safety.

Our dad was passionate about high school sports…Dad took me to my first High School basketball game at the age of two weeks and I don’t believe he ever missed another game until Mom became ill. He was awarded the “REFEREE OF THE YEAR AWARD” at the annual high school basketball banquet for doing the best job of any fan explaining LOUDLY to the referees when they had made a mistake and exactly how they could do a better job.

Our dad was generous...Dad often purchased hamburgers for the nurses aides at our mother’s nursing home, because he was well acquainted with their personal situations and knew who could use a helping hand. He was always the first one at the concession stand buying cokes for the players after the game.

Our dad was realistic…He waited to see how the Dallas Cowboys were playing before he would wear his cap or jacket with their logos each year. If they played poorly then the jacket stayed in the closet.

Rather than saying goodbye, his phone conversations started with “What do you know?” and ended with I guess that’s all I know. He taught us many things, but I don’t believe any of us were ever close to knowing how much he knew.

Kathy - this is such a true reflection of grandpa and I think you did and amazing job writing it.

Mom - you have shown such amazing strength this last week and the fact that you could read this a the service was a wonderful tribute to your dad.

We are still picking up the pieces but we also know that life must go on. Thank you so much for the comments, prayers, cards, etc that our family has received we appreciate each one so much.

The healing has began and we treasure the memories we have!!