I love my Grandpa Dick. He and my Grandma moved in with my family when I was five, and having him as a part of our home was our greatest blessing. I feel so grateful to have grown up with such strong example of how to truly live life. He lived life to the fullest and lived it well. Watching him and my Grandma together showed me the type of relationship I want. They always put eachother's comfort first, laughed together, held hands, and would even stay up late talking. They believed in sticking things out and making the best of any situation.
Grandpa passed away on March 27th. How happy he and Grandma must be to finally be together again. Seeing Grandpa for a year and half without Grandma felt so unnatural. They are meant to be together.
Death is never easy. At any age the loss is still there. Even with the knowledge of eternal families, you just miss them. Grandpa is missed and will be missed in our home forever, but we have the sweetest memories of growing up with him. He was the kind of person that you instantly loved, and was someone you remembered. He brought such a bright spirit to our home. We love him and miss him.
Last year Grandpa and I had fun as we celebrated Easter eating bunny bread up at Grandma's grave. This year with the loss of Grandpa so close celebrating Easter has been so refreshing. I am so grateful for the atonement and the knowledge I have of my Savior, Jesus Christ. I feel so blessed to know that we can be with our families again.
Each set of grandkids gave a talk at the funeral, here is what my siblings and I came up with.
What it meant to live with Grandpa Dick for 16 years
• Never coming home to an empty house, because Grandpa was always there and ready for a visit.
• Always having our tummies full of licorice and pockets full of change.
• If by chance you happen to get a staple stuck in your finger, Grandpa would remove it with his pliers, even if he had to chase you down.
• Having someone to sit on the back porch with and have a drink.
• Having a constant example of what it really means to be green. He understood the concept to reduce, reuse and recycle: finding your old car mats with holes as a new welcome mat for Grandpa’s shop, finding newly washed saran wrap hanging in the kitchen, or saving the string from the water softener salt bags.
• Hearing cheerful whistling as Grandpa built his latest problem solving invention, most of which were to make Grandma’s life easier.
• Being proud to introduce him to our friends
• Having another parent to meet and approve our dates.
• Learning the proper order of dining at chuck-a-rama.
• Learning there’s always something to be happy about. Even on the gloomiest days you could expect to see Grandpa with a cheerful smile pointing out an interesting cloud formation.
• Learning that you are never too old to start a new hobby. At the age of 80, Grandpa bought himself a sewing machine, and took great pleasure in hemming his pants (even if one leg ended up 4 inches shorter than the other). This added a new benefit to us as we’d pick up on the latest fashion trends. Such as the blue leopard printed neckerchief Grandpa proudly handcrafted himself.
• Knowing it wouldn’t be long after you walked in the door before Grandpa would hear your footsteps and be up to give you a big hug and a loving hello.
• Learning that golf is a serious game, even when played on a miniature course.
• Watching Jazz games and hearing the phrase “That Kirilenko is a great player. I sure do like him.”
• Having late nights on the couch watching the rodeos.
• Waking up Grandpa, and having him act as if he had never been asleep.
• Seeing a bright pink bird house in your backyard.
• Learning that material possessions are not the most important thing. Like if you happen to wreck your car by hitting a bus or rolling it in the canyon, you could expect Grandpa to calm you down, reminding you it is just metal.
• Playing Cribbage on the kitchen table.
• Always hearing the phrases “ oh just have a little more” or “Can I get ya anything?” “Do ya need any money?” or “Oh a little licorice never hurt anyone”
• Going on trecks to DI, feeding the ducks, trips to Honks and WalMart.
• Receiving phone calls to inform us about the weather.
• Knowing that if there was a fire in the middle of the night, Grandpa would make a mad dash to get dressed and come running upstairs to help.
• Living with a constant reminder of how marriage was meant to be.
• Hearing, “isn’t she an angel?” when you’re only half way up the stairs.
• Being proud that your Grandpa named you, even if your middle name is Dawn.
• Having an extra hand to help with school projects.
• Hearing over and over that our Mom has never said an unkind word to him.
• Realizing that old age isn’t an excuse to stop learning something new. 90 years old is a great age for your first digital camera.
• Banging pots on New Year’s Eve.
• Seeing a pumpkin on your porch with a cute little sketch of a horse drawn on it.
• Eating Donuts on Saturdays with Grandpa Dick and Grandpa Danny.
• Eating your breakfast with Grandpa by your side reading the newspaper.
• Being able to find a solution to every problem. Like putting up a fence down the middle of the yard so we could have a dog and he could still have his garden.
• **Home made picture frames
• Remembering that “Once a cowboy, always a cowboy.” Even at the age of 91 he made sure he was equipped with his cowboy hat and boots before ever leaving the house.
• Knowing that even though you could expect him to say he wasn’t hungry at supper time, he always found room to finish everything on his plate.
• Hearing stories about the good ol’ times on the ranch, and very rarely hearing the same one twice.
• Having someone to appreciate your cooking even through the learning years.
• Seeing our parents take tender care of Grandma and Grandpa.
• Pulling up to see Grandpa watering the dry spot on the lawn- and wondering why it only gets bigger every day.
• Learning from him to always make good use of your time. We’d often hear him say “What should I do? What could I be doing?” It was a common occurrence to see him out back smashing pop cans, planting flowers, feeding the birds, working in his shop. And after a snow storm it was always a race to see if you could beat Grandpa outside to shovel the walks.
• Hearing, “Knock Knock is anybody home?” each morning.
• Listening through the monitor to hear the sweet interactions of Grandma and Grandpa.
• Having the opportunity to play in a 4 man scramble golf tournament together and winning a trophy that could be seen on his mantle.
• **Buying cinnamon rolls thinking “about others” to share.
• Sharing Christmas mornings with Grandpa.
• Receiving many phone calls wondering where mom was or if we think she’d be home soon.
• Playing games with Grandpa. Even bowling and golfing on the Wii.
• Helping us realize that actions speak louder than words
• Learning that there’s no such thing as too many marigolds.
• Being thanked for every little thing.
• Showing us he believed in people and treated them accordingly.
