My Grandpa was Awesome

My Grandpa was Awesome and he loved all of us, his grandchildren, very much. Period.

That really says it all, but I’ll expand upon this briefly and share some insight into who Grandpa was from the eyes of his grandchildren.

I learned these two facts – that Grandpa was awesome and loved us immensely – at a very young age. My earliest memories involve “the booby trap”. When we were staying over at Grandpa and Grandma’s house, my sister and I would sneak into their bedroom each morning. We would crawl up onto their bed – by this time having certainly made enough noise to wake them – and as soon as we were within Grandpa’s reach, his baritone voice would belt, “Who is that” as he would grab each one of us, put us into a tight bear hug, and hold us there for several seconds. We would laugh so hard as we tried to pry ourselves from his grip, never succeeding. Finally, after a short while, he would “fall asleep” adding a pretend snore for dramatic effect. He’d loosen his grip just enough thereby enabling us to wiggle free and scoot off the bed. “Gosh darnet,” he’d exclaim once we were off the bed and out of his reach, “You Dirty Hound dog” slapping the mattress for emphasis.

We would repeat this process – and he never grew tired of it.

I have much consolation in the good feelings my memories give me. I can clearly picture Grandpa singing as he walked around the house or whistling – he was world class – in the car as we drove to Carroll’s. He loved to play cards with us – hearts, spades, or Gin Rummy. And if you were to beat him, you had to earn it. He’d point at your shirt and say that you had a spot on it, and when you looked down he’d run his finger up your chin saying “Gotcha”. He loved his Miami Hurricanes and Dolphins and took great joy in taking his grandchildren to a game. He was an accomplished storyteller, and you could be almost certain that he would embellish some details along the way. Whenever our friends would meet Grandma and Grandpa, they would always say how lucky we were to have such amazing grandparents.

His sense of humor is one characteristic that made Grandpa a special person. He had an incredible smile and laugh. As soon as one of his grandchildren walked into the room his eyes would light up and he’d have this big toothy grin. A few minutes into a conversation, you would almost certainly be blessed by his laugh. He truly loved to laugh. His ability to laugh at others and himself, to see the absurdity in so much of life is a large part of what made him so Awesome. And someone who can really laugh can’t help but have a sense of what is important in the grand scheme of life.

He did have a strong sense of what was important in life and what was unimportant. Family and his faith in God were at the top of that list. He had a strong moral backbone. He stood for honor, dignity and respect. Although he suffered greatly the last several years – always in pain – he hardly ever complained, at least not to his grandchildren. He served his country, he served his community, and he served his family.

And he loved. He loved Grandma so much. He loved being a parent. He loved being a grandparent. And he loved being a great-grandparent.

From as early as I can remember until the last time I spoke to him, he never hesitated to tell me that he loved me. He never hesitated to tell me that I was special – that I was his favorite (but as my brother Teddy said one time when he was little and Grandpa told him that he was his favorite, “oh Grandpa, you just tell that to all your grandchildren”). We – all 15 of us - were his favorite. Being a grandparent was truly one of his callings in life.

Despite the sadness, we have to be grateful for the 83 years of life Grandpa enjoyed. In his final few months, we all had the chance to tell him how much we loved him as he had family with him around the clock. It was our chance to show this man how much he meant to so many of us.

So, as we gather here in celebration of Grandpa’s life, he would not want us to focus on the sadness of his death, but instead look at the happiness we still have in our lives. He would want us to look at each other, laugh, and appreciate what we have.

So Grandpa, your grandchildren – Joy, Robert, Luke, John, Matthew, Me, Mark, Stephanie, Ed, Lisa, Marie, Jimmy, Julia, Ryan, and Teddy – your honorary grandchildren – Peter, Monica, Erica, Jessica, and Gloria – and your great grandchildren – Olivia, Michael, Caroline, Robert IV, Christopher, and Thomas – we all thank you for your devotion to your family, your humor, your patience, your faith, your life lessons, and your love.

We all love you and will miss you, but you will always be in our minds and heart.

And yes, we do realize how lucky we are.