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Farewell for Grandpa

This is a little long and nostalgic, but. . .

My grandpa passed away  last Sunday.  He has been in failing health for the past several years, so his passing brought peace and comfort to the family. Still, it is always hard to say good-bye to someone you love.  
You wouldn't know it by looking at him, but grandpa had the heart of an adventurer.  He loved to travel everywhere and anywhere.  He especially loved the huge dessert in southern Utah, an area of the world the rest of us have a hard time appreciating.  
Grandpa did not grow up in a family of comfort.  He was raised in a sod dugout on a small farm in Nebraska.  (for those who don't know, a sod  dugout is a small house dug out of the side of a hill, they had a buffalo skin for a door).  The family was very poor.  Grandpa talked about how he could still remember the bitter taste of the boiled weeds they gathered to eat.  
Grandpa worked hard to create a better life for himself and his family.  He worked really hard, and put himself through pharmacy school.  WW II came along, but because of a deformed foot, he was not drafted.  Grandpa decided to serve his country by working for the U.S. government in Panama.  This adventure seemed to fuel his desire to explore.
Grandpa was almost 30 when he met my grandmother.  He was a pharmacist and she was a nurse in a hospital in the middle of nowhere New Mexico.  The area was so rural that on their first date they had to take the body of a deceased infant to the family.  It must have been love.    
They were married in a small chapel in the White Mts. of Arizona (a place they would always love and call home for many years).  Grandpa owned a pharmacy in Gilbert Arizona, and they raised three kids there.  
There were many highs and lows in the family.  One of the greatest highs was about 7 years ago when grandpa was baptized.  Then, the next year the entire family was sealed in the Snowflake Arizona Temple.  
Grandpa loved to laugh and loved to play jokes.  He was a bit of a skin flint, but he was generous.  He paid for all of his grandson's missions, and help support many grandkids in college.  
He was always involved in our lives, no matter how far away we lived.  I love him very much, and I will miss him.    I imagine that without the constraints of his broken body he is standing tall and running his fingers through his hair (he went bald at 19).  I hope he is having another great adventure.   

Comments

Cassie and Mark said…
I'm sorry about the passing of your grandpa. Beautiful tribute.
April 30, 2008 at 8:20 PM
HRHNeenerita said…
Your Grandpa Cady was indeed proud of his grandchildren and loved you so very much. As he looks down and watchs you and your family he will be proud
May 1, 2008 at 1:23 AM
Miss M said…
That was beautiful, thanks for sharing.
May 1, 2008 at 1:35 PM
Orange said…
Thanks, that was cool to learn a little bit more about your Grandpa!
May 5, 2008 at 7:42 PM
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