Grandaddy in Sun Valley - Christmas 2005
About three weeks ago the world lost one of the greatest, most gentle souls when my Grandaddy passed away. His health had been fading in the last couple
of weeks and he even expressed to his daughters that he was ready to go. I definitely wasn’t. As my
older and wiser cousin Erica said “the world just doesn’t seem right without
him in it” and I couldn’t agree more.
It is so hard for me to express to people the kind of man my
Grandaddy was. He lived his life with
integrity, honesty, loyalty and laughter.
Although he didn’t say much, you always stopped and listened when he had
something to say. The relationship he
had with my GrandmaDeDe was a love story for the ages. He absolutely loved my GrandmaDeDe and never
once did anyone see them argue (I’m sure they did argue, but they kept it
behind closed doors as to not involve anyone else). I remember vacationing with them at their condo
in Maui and we were all getting ready to go out to dinner. My GrandmaDeDe was the last one to come down
the stairs and I watched my Grandaddy watch her come down the stairs and with a
big smile on his face tell my GrandmaDeDe that she looked beautiful. My heart stopped and I knew at that moment
that I would be the luckiest girl in the world if my husband looked at me that
way after fifty years of marriage. It
was amazing to see his love for her even when GrandmaDeDe’s health deteriorated
due to her battle with Alzheimer’s.
With my Grandaddy I got to share my love of crossword
puzzles, sudoku, salads, blackberry wine and a good old fashioned hat party. I only hope that my family and I can continue
the wonderful legacy that he has left behind.
To celebrate his life, Ryan and I headed to Bellevue, WA
with the rest of the aunts, uncles and cousins.
I can’t think of a better group to celebrate with:
I love you, Grandaddy. Until we meet again . . . Sergeant, over and out.
