One of his favorite ice cream shops in Seattle was Donna's. I can just see him smiling and saying mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm after EVERY single bite. Savoring every single bite.
My Grandpa LOVED LIFE! He savored life!
20 years ago today, I got the phone call I was dreading. I knew Grandpa had cancer and our youngest son at the time was only 5 months old. We had just been to Seattle to see him 2 weeks prior and for him to meet Luke for the first time. Grandpa had gone to be with Jesus with family around his bed and singing those beautiful Church of God Hymns that he so dearly loved and adored.
Let me introduce you to my Grandpa. I am the oldest of the 11 Grandchildren in this family. He loved his children but he ADORED his grandchildren. He LOVED to write poems and stories and was a gifted writer.
He was a shutter monkey and we are SO thankful to have his endless photos & 8mm film of flowers, midnight sun and just living life. Printing film back then was expensive so he did his own developing.
He LOVED his country that he served. He was in the US Army and served his 20 years working for the ACS (Alaska Communications system). He didn't make much money at all, raising 4 kids.
He LOVED cocker spaniels and could get them to do all kinds of tricks, even with saltines. My favorite was Buffy. And you know what? They loved him!
He was a Godly man. He loved reading his Bible with Grandma, leading his family. They didn't bad talk or say anything negative about anyone. He was a dear, trusted friend that stuck with his friends.
They almost NEVER missed church, even when snow covered their roof tops of their home in Alaska!
He LOVED to provide for his family types of game meats, deer, elk, bear, salmon, crab etc. He was an expert hunter and fisher.
He LOVED to go camping and spend quality time with his family. And they traveled.........and traveled. Saw family and documented everything!
He ADORED my Grandma. I mean even towards the end, they were holding hands, kissing and were totally smitten with each other. She was so very lost without him!
He LOVED his kids and his grandchildren. I won't post them all because I have literally hundreds and thousands of photos but I'll just leave a few.
So now that I've introduced you to a piece of my heart, My Grandfather, I want you to know just how much he means and meant to us all. How much we so sorely miss him. How much we're thankful for his gifts from heaven even after his death. So Grandpa, tonight, I will take a bite of ice cream, say, MMMMMMMMM and smile really big while looking up to heaven. Love & miss you so very much.
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