Goodbye Grandpa

My Grandpa (my mom's dad) passed away recently. He was 94 years old. My Grandparents lived in Southern California and since we lived in Missouri I didn't get to spend that much time with them, but in spite of that I do have some great memories.

My whole childhood they were always traveling to far off lands like Israel, Russia, and the Panama Canal. They also took my Mom to Spain. They always brought us back presents and my Grandpa told us great stories of the things they saw. Many times he used these trips to research our ancestors. His example instilled in me a fascination with other countries and cultures and in my heritage. He was always finding and keeping in touch with distant relatives to learn more about generations gone by.

Between my 7th and 8th grade years I spent the summer with them in California. We started out on a roadtrip in their RV from Utah to California. We stopped along the way at Bryce, Zion, and the Grand Canyon. It was my first time to any of those places but I think they had been to all of them before and went out of their way just to show me these amazing places. Grandpa always bought me soda and souvenirs along the way and let me sit up front while he drove and told me stories of his football days at NAU and working for the railroad. I can see why my Grandma fell for him. He was quite and impressive young man...and good looking too. I loved staying at their house. It was quiet and peaceful and they had the most amazing back yard. Grandpa would get up early every morning to work in the hard. They had such wonderful citrus and avocado trees. In fact, until I tasted one of their tree ripened avocados I thought I hated them. Now avocado is one of my absolute favorite things. I also loved the fresh squeezed orange juice.

That summer I also spent a lot of time at Gordon's house. My aunt Linda's niece, Eva, was staying there as well. Eva and I got to be good friends and have kept in touch over the years (although I'm not so great at it lately). When she got married my freshman year of college I flew to California for her wedding and stayed with my Grandparents. Being a poor college student the cheapest ticket I could find was to LAX. My Grandpa drove all the way out there to pick me up and take me to their house during RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC. I have never seen traffic like that and I hope never to see it again. I had no idea what I had asked him to do. I know he did though but he agreed to pick me up anyway.

The picture above is at my wedding in Portland, Oregon less than three years ago. Even though they were in their 90's my Grandparents took the train (accompanied by my uncle) to go to my wedding and visit Portland where they had previously lived. I am so grateful that they were there and so glad that my Grandpa was able to lead such an active life up until the very end.

The last time I saw Grandpa was about a year and a half ago. I was in Fontana, CA watching Brad in a Forumula 1 competition for BYU. I called to ask when I could come visit. At the time my Grandma was recouperating in a care facility after suffering a stroke. My Grandpa said he went over there every day around 11. I asked if Gordon drove him and he said "no, I drive myself", even though I'm not sure he should have been. We had a nice visit. He told me stories and jokes and I got them caught up on the latest with my family.

Brad and I have lost three grandfathers in just the last three months. Although it's always sad to lose a family member, one thing that I can say is that each of these men led incredibly full lives and left quite a legacy.