The speech that my dad will read on my behalf at my grandpa's memorial service:
Let me start off by saying that I wish very deeply that I
could be there today. Bill is my grandfather, and his great grandson Dylan (my son) was admitted to the hospital the
evening before I was supposed to leave for California. He is ok now, but he
gave me a scare such that I didn’t want to leave him behind. I know that if
grandpa were here today, he would tell me to stay home, because family is most
important.
That is one of the great things about my grandfather, he
loved his family very much. And there are a lot of people to love: 2 sons, 4
grandsons, 5 granddaughters, 2 great granddaughters, 2 great grandsons. And
this is just the immediate family.
There are several things that I love about grandpa. He
always made me laugh. I like to think that I got his sense of humor. Well, my
dad got that directly from him. I think some of it trickled down to me.
So, with that in mind, here are 4 of my favorite memories
about grandpa.
1. He always made time to hang out with me and my brother
whenever we came to visit. I remember spending a ton of time at the pool. They
had the most amazing pool in their neighborhood. Grandpa loved taking us to the
pool. Shaun and I would be playing (or, more than likely fighting) and grandpa
would show up in his swim trunks and ask us if we wanted to go to the pool. We
would spend hours there. Going back and forth from the pool to the spa. But
this is what I love about grandpa, he called them the cold pool and the hot
pool. I have no idea why, but this is something that I am pretty sure every
member of our family still calls the pool and the spa to this day. Hot pool and
cold pool. So every time I take Dylan swimming in the years to come, I will
call it the cold pool and explain that his great grandpa used to call it that.
2. When I was a little older and in college, grandma and
grandpa wanted to take me out to a nice lunch for my birthday. They invited me
to their club. I had never been there, but thought that I would just come
straight from class. I gave very little attention to my outfit that day. I woke
up late and had a test that I could not miss. I threw on the first thing that
didn’t smell offensive and ran out the door. That afternoon when I arrive at
the club, late by the way which I am sure didn’t bode well at the time, grandma
took one look at me and politely said that we would have to have lunch
somewhere else. There was an awkward pause while I looked over my outfit: jeans
that covered my legs, tennis shoes, and a shirt that covered more than most. I
didn’t get it. I mean granted, I didn’t look like I was going to a ball, but I
didn’t look homeless either. I thought that I looked fine. Grandma broke the
silence of my internal scrutiny and said that jeans were not allowed in the
club. We were all hungry (even more so because of my tardiness) and now we were
going to have to go someplace else for lunch. I felt awful and knew that
grandma was annoyed with me, but grandpa leaned over out of her earshot and
told me that I looked beautiful, held my hand and walked me to my car.
3. Grandpa had a liquor cabinet in the house. He would have a
drink of whiskey once in a while. I
would ask him for a sip every time I saw him drinking. One day when I was about
6, he gave in and gave me a sip. I, being 6, thought that it was apple juice,
of ginger ale, so I chugged it. Immediately my mouth was on fire. I thought
that I was going to throw up. I may have spit it out on the carpet, I do not
remember. All I remember is that my mouth was on fire and the flames were
reaching down my throat. This was the nastiest juice I had ever tasted. How
could grandpa drink this? Grandma came in and I am sure gave grandpa an earful.
She handed me a ginger ale to quench the fire. Grandpa was laughing. I never
once asked for another drink from him. I made sure that every drink I got from
that moment on came from grandma’s hands.
4. My wedding day, November 20, 2004. It was during the money
dance (a dance where you pay the bride and/or groom to dance with them). I had
a purse in my hand that everyone was supposed to put the money in. Once the dj
announced that the dance would begin, grandpa rushed to be the first in line. I
have never seen an 86 year old man walk that fast. He had the biggest grin on
his face, asked me if I would dance with him, and then shoved a $100 bill down
the front of my dress. That was by far the best dance of the night.
There are many memories. But these are just a few.
Grandpa, you will be missed. But your memory will live on.
Every time I go swimming, every time I feel a bit underdressed, every time I
drink whiskey, and every time I look on the mantle and see the picture of us
dancing at my wedding. But that’s not all, I will think of you when I play with
my kids, and when I sit down for a holiday meal. I will think of you whenever I
see a golfer on tv. I will think of you as I raise my kids and eventually my
grandkids and I will be grateful for the example that you gave me. You taught
me how to be a wonderful parent and how to love my family. And not only did you
make it look easy, but you reminded us all that family always comes first.
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