It was an early Sunday morning on June 24, 2012, my phone rang and on the other end was the voice of my mom. "Your grandpa passed away early this morning" my mother said. I was saddened by the news, but at the same time I felt a since of peace knowing that my grandpa would no longer be suffering from cancer. This is a tribute to my grandpa:
I remember grandpa as a loving happy man. He was always laughing and cutting up. I can still see his smile and hear the roar of his laughter. Although I never went fishing with Grandpa like I did with my other grandfather, I loved hearing him tell of his childhood and other fond memories he had buried deep in his mind. My grandpa knew how to tell a story. I don't know if his stories ever changed, they always seemed like new stories in my mind each and every time. He captivated my attention with the stories of his childhood; with stories of my mother's childhood; stories about the jobs he had and people he had met; and when he and grandma came to visit us while living in Germany. We traveled to the places he had been while fighting in WWII all the while telling us stories of the friends he met and the events he encountered during the war. I never tired listening to him.
From the stories that he would tell, I had assumed that he was a hard working man. He owned rental property and I remember once in awhile when we visited we, my family and I, would go and help grandpa with repairs or cleaning. I also gathered from his stories that he was a loyal friend, a loyal brother, husband and father. He was also a loyal grandfather.
One year, I went to visit my grandparents. I was about 20 years old. Grandma and Grandpa would go to the VFW on the weekend to visit with some of their friends. I am not sure that my mom would have approved, but I went and enjoyed my time. There were many people dancing on the dance floor. My grandpa took me by the hand and led me out to the dance floor to try and teach me how to dance. I am not sure I was a very good student. I realized that I had 2 left feet, but he was patient with me through the song. After that though he handed me over to a younger man to dance with. My first dance lesson was given to by my grandpa.
Grandpa was also the first person I rode my first big roller coaster with at Worlds of Fun. I was scared to death, but not grandpa. If he was scared, he never showed it. He sat next to me and after that roller coaster made its way slowly up the hill and was getting ready to start its decent, my grandpa threw his arms in the air and screamed like everyone else did! He yelled as if he were a young man again. I did not have his sense of bravery though. I clutched the bar in front of me and stared at my grandpa hoping the ride would end soon! What a great memory of my grandpa.
The only memories I have of my grandfather are happy ones and with every visit, I looked forward to watching grandpa make a big pot of Tapioca pudding. He would serve it to us while it was still warm. It was the best I had ever eaten. Mine could never compare to his in a million years. I suppose it's because he made his with a lot of grandpa love!
I will miss sitting out on his back porch on a hot sticky Missouri afternoon, drinking cold lemonade and enjoying the stories he told of his past. I will miss talking to him about his garden and of being envious that his tomatoes would grow 5 times larger than mine ever did! He would tell me that the secret to his big tomatoes was Miracle Gro....I will miss my grandpa very much!
