Last Wednesday, after spending all day packing boxes and loading our moving truck and cleaning, I received a phone call just as I was getting into bed to let me know my Grandpa had passed away. In a way, this was a blessing. My Grandpa was diagnosed with lung cancer about 14 months ago, and even though he gave it quite a fight, the last few months had been very hard on him and he was so sick that we were glad to see him released from all his pain. However, this is the first Grandparent that I have lost and I had a very hard time with losing him, especially since I was so far away and not able to see him one last time and really say good-bye. The last time I saw him was in April and he didn't look good then, and I knew it could be my last chance to see him, but I hoped I would have at least one more opportunity.My Grandpa was an amazing man who was loved by all who met him. 
His viewing was Wednesday evening and there were so many people there who came to pay their respects. The line was so long all night. My Grandpa was so giving and so kind and had such a great sense of humor and was so much fun to be around. He will truly be missed!
His viewing was Wednesday evening and there were so many people there who came to pay their respects. The line was so long all night. My Grandpa was so giving and so kind and had such a great sense of humor and was so much fun to be around. He will truly be missed!I have many memories of my Grandpa - He was such a joker and LOVED to tease! He was constantly teasing my Dad about his hair (or lack of...), my mom about how many children she had, my brothers about their "Girlfriends", my sister about her lack of direction and me about why I
hadn't scored more points or won my last game. He always knew how to get to all of us, but he never went too far. My grandpa also always had a good joke and knew how to laugh! He also had a myriad of little tricks to entertain us, like pulling one arm longer than the other, or the pencil trick, or removing his thumb. He also loved to have my brothers hit his hand as hard as they could. He would tell them it wasn't hard enough and make them continue to hit over and over, until they really wound up and then he made his hand into a fist and they would always walk away with a bruised hand...and ego, although the next time they visited, they always went back for more. One of his favorites was to tell us there was a dragon in the basement. There was a trap door to his cellar in the bathroom and then when the unsuspecting victim went to use the bathroom, he would pound on the door and make so much noise and scare us to death! He LOVED practical jokes!
hadn't scored more points or won my last game. He always knew how to get to all of us, but he never went too far. My grandpa also always had a good joke and knew how to laugh! He also had a myriad of little tricks to entertain us, like pulling one arm longer than the other, or the pencil trick, or removing his thumb. He also loved to have my brothers hit his hand as hard as they could. He would tell them it wasn't hard enough and make them continue to hit over and over, until they really wound up and then he made his hand into a fist and they would always walk away with a bruised hand...and ego, although the next time they visited, they always went back for more. One of his favorites was to tell us there was a dragon in the basement. There was a trap door to his cellar in the bathroom and then when the unsuspecting victim went to use the bathroom, he would pound on the door and make so much noise and scare us to death! He LOVED practical jokes!One of my favorite things about my Grandpa was his
kisses - When you gave my Grandpa a kiss, he would make this funny popping sound and rear back, almost as if you had just knocked him out. When I was a little girl, I thought this was the greatest thing ever! And after I had kids, they also LOVED this and would always want to go back for another and another and would always be laughing. My Grandpa loved it!
Something I will always remember are Sunday night visits to
Grandpa's house. He was always kicked back in his armchair watching the Cowboys or the Jazz or an old Western. My Grandpa always had yummy treats at his house, or ice cream and root beer for Root Beer Floats, or ice cream sandwiches. He loved to torment us - He would always have some treat ready when we got there, and then give it to one of us and tell us we could only have it if we didn't share with anyone else. There was enough for all of us, but he said that if we did share, he would take it back. This was great for the person with the treat, but torture for the rest of us and my parents as they had to listen to the 6 of us without the treat whine and complain, especially when the visit fell on Fast Sunday and we were all starving! My Grandpa would then sit back and revel in the mischief he had achieved and loved every minute of it!
kisses - When you gave my Grandpa a kiss, he would make this funny popping sound and rear back, almost as if you had just knocked him out. When I was a little girl, I thought this was the greatest thing ever! And after I had kids, they also LOVED this and would always want to go back for another and another and would always be laughing. My Grandpa loved it!Something I will always remember are Sunday night visits to
Grandpa's house. He was always kicked back in his armchair watching the Cowboys or the Jazz or an old Western. My Grandpa always had yummy treats at his house, or ice cream and root beer for Root Beer Floats, or ice cream sandwiches. He loved to torment us - He would always have some treat ready when we got there, and then give it to one of us and tell us we could only have it if we didn't share with anyone else. There was enough for all of us, but he said that if we did share, he would take it back. This was great for the person with the treat, but torture for the rest of us and my parents as they had to listen to the 6 of us without the treat whine and complain, especially when the visit fell on Fast Sunday and we were all starving! My Grandpa would then sit back and revel in the mischief he had achieved and loved every minute of it!
My Grandpa was an expert fisherman and hunter and loved the outdoors. I remember when I was very little going to Bear Lake with my Grandpa, which was his favorite place to fish. He loved to take others fishing and loved to have them catch the biggest fish. My favorite fishing memory was when I was about 8 years old. We went to a fish farm and my grandpa was teaching me how to cast. I unfortunately cast too early and somehow got the hook up the nose of my pregnant mother! It was really stuck in there and she had to get some medical help. My grandpa had a heyday with this and LOVED to tease me about what I had done to my mom and that I had caught a WHALE! Since you pay by the pound at the fish farm, he also enjoyed teasing my dad about how much that catch was going to cost him! Whenever we went to the fish farm, he would always try and help us hook the biggest fish in the pond, so that my dad would have to pay for it! Grandpa had 2 HUGE fish mounted on his wall in his house and Logan loved to go and see the "big fishies". He was a little wary of them though because my Grandpa would make sounds for them or tell Logan they might jump off the wall if he got too close. My Grandpa was so great with kids and babies and my kids loved him so much! He loved spoiling them! There was a video at the viewing of him 
feeding my cousin's baby some root beer float that was SO my grandpa. He also had a $5 or $10 for the kids every time we saw him. Even at the funeral, my Grandpa had left 5 $5 for each of his 5 great-grandchilren. It was so fitting! He got such a kick out of Logan and all of his antics and always called him the Energizer Bunny and referred to him as a fireball because he had so much energy and never stopped. He took us to breakfast a little while back and was so
amazed at all the Logan could eat and kept giving him food to see how much he could put away and then would tell everyone about it. Rylee and my Grandpa also had a very special bond. Rylee has been an extreme Mama's Girl since birth and will rarely let anyone else hold her, including my parents, sisters and sometimes even Darren. At family functions, everyone would pass her around and she would cry for all of them, until she ended up on my Grandpa's lap. She was always so content there. She would even frequently end up asleep there and always looked so sweet. At my sister's wedding luncheon, she sat with my Grandpa the entire time and fell asleep in his arms. Maybe 
part of this bond is because Rylee is partially named for my Grandpa. Darren and I decided on the name Rylee pretty quickly and without too much argument but we couldn't agree on how to spell it - I preferred Rylee because it looked more feminine and Darren liked Riley because it was more traditional. However, my Grandpa was diagnosed with cancer just a few weeks before Rylee was born and since his name was Richard Lee, I felt it only fitting that Rylee's name be spelled this way, and Darren couldn't really argue that. She may have to spell it for people the rest of her life, but she will always carry a special part of my Grandpa with her.
feeding my cousin's baby some root beer float that was SO my grandpa. He also had a $5 or $10 for the kids every time we saw him. Even at the funeral, my Grandpa had left 5 $5 for each of his 5 great-grandchilren. It was so fitting! He got such a kick out of Logan and all of his antics and always called him the Energizer Bunny and referred to him as a fireball because he had so much energy and never stopped. He took us to breakfast a little while back and was so
amazed at all the Logan could eat and kept giving him food to see how much he could put away and then would tell everyone about it. Rylee and my Grandpa also had a very special bond. Rylee has been an extreme Mama's Girl since birth and will rarely let anyone else hold her, including my parents, sisters and sometimes even Darren. At family functions, everyone would pass her around and she would cry for all of them, until she ended up on my Grandpa's lap. She was always so content there. She would even frequently end up asleep there and always looked so sweet. At my sister's wedding luncheon, she sat with my Grandpa the entire time and fell asleep in his arms. Maybe 
part of this bond is because Rylee is partially named for my Grandpa. Darren and I decided on the name Rylee pretty quickly and without too much argument but we couldn't agree on how to spell it - I preferred Rylee because it looked more feminine and Darren liked Riley because it was more traditional. However, my Grandpa was diagnosed with cancer just a few weeks before Rylee was born and since his name was Richard Lee, I felt it only fitting that Rylee's name be spelled this way, and Darren couldn't really argue that. She may have to spell it for people the rest of her life, but she will always carry a special part of my Grandpa with her. My Grandpa could build anything and my house has so many special treasures that he has built for me and my kids. He built Logan a beauti
ful dresser and has built me so many things, including a hope chest, an incredible doll house, a dresser, a trunk and many others. He started out making mostly furniture but he got quite crafty and would also build cool birdhouses, frames and shelves and cool things to hang on the wall. He would build anything for anyone and never charged anybody or would accept any payment. The things he built were so beautiful and I am so glad that I have so many amazing reminders of my Grandpa around our home.
ful dresser and has built me so many things, including a hope chest, an incredible doll house, a dresser, a trunk and many others. He started out making mostly furniture but he got quite crafty and would also build cool birdhouses, frames and shelves and cool things to hang on the wall. He would build anything for anyone and never charged anybody or would accept any payment. The things he built were so beautiful and I am so glad that I have so many amazing reminders of my Grandpa around our home. Probably my very favorite memory of my Grandpa was when he came to Ve
gas about 4 years ago to visit Darren and I with his girlfriend, Elaine. They were staying out at Boulder Station and was so excited for us to come out there so he could treat us to the buffet and see the little patriotic program and afterwards teach us how to play
gas about 4 years ago to visit Darren and I with his girlfriend, Elaine. They were staying out at Boulder Station and was so excited for us to come out there so he could treat us to the buffet and see the little patriotic program and afterwards teach us how to play I remember my Grandpa's visits each Christmas morning. He would bring us all a $20 bill and always seemed to know where the tracks from Santa's sleigh and the reindeer were in our yard, which we loved to discover! He also LOVED reading the letter that Santa left and giving my dad a hard time about it. It became a bit of a thing each year and Santa seemed to write more and more nice things about my Dad, and Grandpa loved teasing him about them all. My Grandpa was staying at my mom's over 
this last Christmas when we were there visiting. He never complained or asked for anything - Even at his sickest! Even when he was in so much pain, if you asked how he was, he would say he was fine, even though you could tell he really wasn't. We also had to constantly ask him if there was anything he needed because he would never just say that he needed a glass of water or the TV turned on or anything - He never wanted to be a bother. I was glad that we had that time to spend with him. Logan would get up each morning and tell us he wanted to go see Great-Grandpa and run up to his arm chair to say hello. I feel a little cheated that my Grandpa left us so young - He would have been 71 last Monday. I feel especially cheated for my children who won't get to really know their Great Grandpa. At his funeral, it was said that he "didn't tell us how to live, he showed us how." I think that is a great description of my Grandpa. He was never preachy, but was always a great example of kindness, giving, charity, forgiveness and love. Although I am sad that he is gone, I am grateful for the lessons he has taught me. I am also grateful that he is no longer in pain. I am grateful for the gospel and its teachings that give us the hope of eternal life and the blessing of knowing that my Grandpa is somewhere better and I have the opportunity to see him again. We Love You and Miss You Grandpa!
this last Christmas when we were there visiting. He never complained or asked for anything - Even at his sickest! Even when he was in so much pain, if you asked how he was, he would say he was fine, even though you could tell he really wasn't. We also had to constantly ask him if there was anything he needed because he would never just say that he needed a glass of water or the TV turned on or anything - He never wanted to be a bother. I was glad that we had that time to spend with him. Logan would get up each morning and tell us he wanted to go see Great-Grandpa and run up to his arm chair to say hello. I feel a little cheated that my Grandpa left us so young - He would have been 71 last Monday. I feel especially cheated for my children who won't get to really know their Great Grandpa. At his funeral, it was said that he "didn't tell us how to live, he showed us how." I think that is a great description of my Grandpa. He was never preachy, but was always a great example of kindness, giving, charity, forgiveness and love. Although I am sad that he is gone, I am grateful for the lessons he has taught me. I am also grateful that he is no longer in pain. I am grateful for the gospel and its teachings that give us the hope of eternal life and the blessing of knowing that my Grandpa is somewhere better and I have the opportunity to see him again. We Love You and Miss You Grandpa!
My Grandpa and Logan on his Blessing Day
My Grandpa and Rylee on her Blessing Day
2 comments:
What a sweet documentary of your grandpa! I was crying by the end and the last picture of his hands with Rylee's. I hope you and your family are doing ok.
Thanks for the comments on my page! You are such a sweet tender support to me and I appreciate it so much!! We have been gone a week and I miss you already!!
I'm so sorry about your Grandpa! He was such a good man! I know how hard this is on your mom and your family and I have kept you all in my prayers! Love you tons!
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