Papa

Just after I wrote the earlier entry I started feeling guilty as if I wrote off the day too soon. As I was getting my coat on to walk out of the office today at a quarter to five, I see my office phone ring. I pick it up and my sweet husband has the hard task of telling me the news. My grandfather has passed away. In as much as yes he was 89 years old and my parents have been taking care of him daily since his wife of 35 years died this spring, I don't think we can ever really prepare our hearts. It's not exactly how we thought it would happen. It was more sudden and a shock to us all.

He had a charm that was unmistakable. When we went somewhere he always made the person who waited on us smile. I remember from a young age he would call all three of us girls beautiful young ladies. We'd get together for family gatherings around the pool and he'd always remind us in that sweet funny quirky grandfatherly way, that we could swim in his pool but we couldn't get wet. He had many of those... he would ask if we knew it was just as far from here to there as it is back? Yeah, you can read that last sentence a couple more times, it's word for word what he said. All we could do was chuckle and tell him we loved him. He had a large jar in the backroom and before we could count too terribly high, he would tell all four of us grand kids that how ever much change we could count, he would give us in dollars. He grew up during the depression also surviving World War II. He bought his house in Colleyville before the big houses came in. That's the only house I ever remember him living in and that is where he left this earth. October 17 1919 - December 12 2008

Papa and I around the pool- 2007


Father's Day 2003


1978 with my sister Leah at my brother's baptism


1976 us three girls with Papa