This is a tribute to my grandpa.
My sweet grandfather passed away earlier this month, and when I say sweet, I mean like Saintly. We celebrated his 95th birthday together with friends on December 5th, we also held services in his memory. It was really fitting in some ways, all of his family and friends together, and he was really the one enjoying himself the most. Two scoops of heavenly ice cream with Rice Krispie sprinkles I'm sure were on his menu that day. But when I went to sleep that night, I thought to myself, 'Today was a good day.'
I didnt really realize until I was much older that people weren't leaving their change in the pay phones, my grandpa was putting it there. I also didnt really know that most kids didnt have personalized birthday wrapping paper. And I still kinda think that if I could break into the old shop where his business was, I could probably find a Ritz cracker and some peanut butter squirreled away in the back of a desk drawer. Speaking of that shop, if you were ever in there, I'll bet you can still smell that wonderful smell. Hard work and concern for others.
Grandpa was an admirable man. Willing to stand firm when others wouldnt. Willing to be second not because he was lazy or lacked drive, but because he was content, never striving. He was a lifetime learner, and was always reading something. He was a walking Grand Rapids historian, often times with humble personal stories of many of the familiar names around here. He was a man against whom many other husbands were measured. My great aunt once advised me to look for a man just like my grandfather, and then I would have found the one.
Grandpa was a man of faith. His Bible was dogeared and worn from years of reading and studying. And when he would pray it truly was like you were listening in on a conversation between two friends. I can remember that often times the summation would be something like, 'and we thank you for ALLLLL of the good things you have given to us, in Jesus name, AMEN' which, as I read it back, reads like every other prayer, but I can hear just the way he said it. He loved his Savior and lived his life as a reflection of that love.
I already miss my grandpa. A few days after the funeral was Pearl Harbor Day, he would have been just 24, and I thought, 'I should ask him where he was when he heard the news.' but I cant.
His time on this earth is over, he's rejoicing in Heaven now. I cant imagine that he's that much different from how he was here, I'm sure he his, but my human brain just cant fathom much more perfection!
I'm so thankful for the many years I had to enjoy and learn from Grandpa. He has given me, and everyone who knew him, a gift: a heritage of what a life well lived looks like, may we cherish and use it wisely.
My SIL Andrea took some good photos of the days surrounding the funeral, and also has a link to the funeral service which, as I said, was quite lovely. You can find all that on her blog
here.
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