Our Gpa

My Grandpa passed away last Monday, Nov. 16th at 3:35pm. He was an amazing man.

Below is a copy of the remembrance that gave at his funeral. It was hard to get through, but it was something that I felt I needed to do and I am glad I did it.

My Remembrance:

I am going to preface this by apologizing for the blubbering that I am sure will occur once I get started. So in advance, I am sorry, but I am sure you all understand.

I am having trouble finding the words to describe the wonderful man that is our grandfather. And those who know me, know that being at a loss for words is not something that happens to me a lot. I guess what I am struggling the most with is that nothing sounds good enough. Kind, generous, caring, smart, loyal are all great words to describe a great man, and he was and they do… but they seem small. And there was nothing small about Grandpa. Everything he did, he did BIG. He gave BIG of his time and resources, loved BIG his family and friends. He laughed BIG with his wit and sense of humor. Lived BIG with his profession and free time and even though he came from a family of 4, he and Grandma created a BIG family that is still growing.

Grandpa was a doer. He taught me how to show the people around me that I loved them. He always put his family first. Everything he did was for us. I had the pleasure of working for him and my Dad at Mid City and not only was our family prevalent in what he was doing there… but he also spread that philosophy to all his employees. Family comes first. That has been instilled in our way of life for as long as I can remember. I’ve never understood people who didn’t want to go home for Thanksgiving and Christmas. There is nothing better than my family. I love the familiarity, the warmth, the comfort and at the heart of that are our grandparents. They taught our parents the values that have been ingrained in all of us. Family first, everything else comes second.

To say that our Gpa was a generous man is a complete understatement. I’ve always said that he would give us the shirt off his back if we would take it. He’d even insist 3 or 4 times if we refused. He was not satisfied unless he felt he did everything he could to help. And he normally got his way. It was very hard to say No to Gpa.

Grandpa has always encouraged us to follow our dreams. To pursue anything. Any time one of us would go over to see our grandparents and tell them what was going on in our lives, Grandpa would always say, “Well, what if we did this…” and he would sit with us and work out a plan as to how we would make our dreams happen. Always with his help and guidance.

He was the most giving person I have ever known. I think if you look up the word “unconditional” in the dictionary you will see a picture of our Grandpa. No matter what, love and acceptance is what he always gave.

He had the best sense of humor. You could always count on Gpa to have some witty comment to brighten your day. He loved to laugh and smile. Whenever you would call and ask if Grandma was around he’d say “No, she’s a square but I’ll see if she’s here.” Even with his illness, he never lost his humor or charm.

When I think about our Gpa I will remember his love for:

Ice cream (always had room for ice cream because it filled in the cracks), any music with a beat (old or new), cruising (he and Gma went on 50 cruises!), pepper (he would open the shaker and pour it all over his meal), good wine, fine dining, Mid City, lakes and oceans, chocolate, electronics, Coca-cola, chicken tenders at seafood restaurants, generous tipping, cars, traveling, and especially his family, his friends, Grandma, & their dog, Missie.

So Grandpa, as you said to Sarah on her wedding day, “You’re super duper!” We love you so much. And while we are sad you are gone, we are happy that you are well again, cruising around on the best ship you’ve ever been on. We miss you, but we will never forget all that you have taught us. To hope with all our hearts, to love unconditionally, to give generously, to dream big, and to always put family first.

And I know he is smiling down on us saying, "Ya did good." A world without Grandpa, not sure I am ready for it.