My dear Grandpa Jo passed away peacefully March 11 after a full, long, wonderful life. His funeral was inspiring to me, making me want to give more service, love more deeply, and act more unselfishly. My grandpa was a hard worker, dedicated to his family, his country and most importantly, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I have many wonderful memories of grandpa, and feel so blessed to have grown up with him in my life. When I turned 8 years old, he took me out to lunch to Chili's and showed me his collection of silver dollars. I got to choose any one I wanted to keep as my own! This was such a treasure to me, I had my mom keep it safe in her closet; I didn't want to risk ever losing it. And at 8 years old, my mom's closet seemed like the safest place I could ever imagine.
Grandpa Jo used to call our cat, Fluffy, "that black cat." I thought this was so funny, because Fluffy wasn't black, but white with black spots. I got a kick out of it every time.
Grandpa Jo always treated my grandma with more patience, kindness, and love than ever thought possible. I can still hear him saying "now, Ann..." as he tried to calm her down when she got all riled up about something (which happens quite often.) At one point, my grandma wasn't able to watch The Young and the Restless, of which she has been a faithful follower since the show began. So my grandpa watched it for her, taking notes on the intriguing plot and love affairs of these deep, well-rounded characters so that my grandma could stay up to date with her favorite show. Now if that's not true love, I don't know what is.
During my grandpa's final days, he comforted his wife of over 60 years by remarking that they've had a great adventure together. This brings me to tears because it is oh, so true. My grandma and grandpa Jo have lived humble, loving lives, sharing their spirit and kindness with their 6 children, and an army of grandchildren, in-laws, and great grandchildren. I hope Grandpa Jo knows how much I love him and what a great example he was to me, and that his legacy will live on forever.
7 comments:
So sorry, Holly. What a wonderful tribute to your grandpa you have just penned. Beautiful.
what a wonderful post. Its fun to hear those stories about him. I'm so glad I knew him. I didnt know him well but he was a very sincere sweet man who will be missed.
Oh, my gosh! I think I just fell in love with your grandpa too! I love that he took notes on The Young and The Restless.
What a nice tribute Hols. He makes me want to go out and create great "adventures" with D.
I love the part about the soap opera. Such a sweet commentary on how happy marriage can be.
I love that he took notes for her on The Young and the Restless. True Love! I'm so happy that you have such wonderful memories of your time together!!
so sad i wasn't there, but so happy you posted some photos.
i've been meaning to write something about gramps, but just trying to put my thought together. i loved him so much.
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