Grampa

My Grampa died last weekend. It's strange how long it takes things to really hit you. Jess and I went to the funeral on Thursday. This was more of a hassle than it sounds like because Grampa lived in Florida. We ended up hanging out in the Philadelphia airport for 2 hours. Florida was nice. The weather was good and seeing my brothers was ok. The service was beautiful. It was held in a mausoleum that was more the size of a small church. Grampa was president of the cemetary at one point and he was responsible for the building of this mausoleum so it was fitting. The mausoleum had a large window at each end, one showing the parking lot and the other looked out over a very lush green area with trees, a small pond area and a lot of wildlife. This large window was the behind the podeum where the reverend stood. My dad gave a beautiful eulogy which was both touching and honest. At the end he had us all sing When Irish Eyes are Smiling, a song my grandfather loved to sing.

Because Grampa was an officer in the army during World War II, he was given an honor guard. They played Taps and folded the flag, giving it to my father. During Taps, at the perfect moment, a giant stork game flying up from the pond. He kept flying back and forth. It was beautiful. I'm going to miss my Grampa. There were over 100 people at the funeral and I'm sure he would have appreciated that. The Reverend said that normally when he goes to a 90 year-old's funeral, there are far fewer people; usually just the family and a few others, if that.

After the formal service, we went to the Elks Club. Grampa was active in the Elks for a long time. He was a past State President. I learned so much about my Grampa to make me prouder of him than I already was. One of the speakers at the Elk's service was a Black man, the chaplain of the Clearwater/Dunedin Chapter of the Elks. He was the first Black Elk in the state of Florida. My Grandfather recruited him, sponsored him and nominated him to become an officer in the Elks. He told the man not that he would make a good Elk, but that he would be "good for Elkdom." It was a nice service.

I'm sure that Grampa is in a better place now. He was in a lot of pain and deep into Alzheimers so in some ways it's better this way. But I still miss him so much. When I was little he used to send me letters with little nick nacks in them. Occassionally it would be something really special like his Captain's Bars froming being in the army, or the Soldiers Medal he recieved for saving the lives of three men from drowning while on active duty in the Phillipines. Other times it was just neat pins and key chains. Grampa never hesitated tell me how proud of me he was and how much he loved me. That's something I hope that I can keep in my heart for when I have children and grandchildren. I loved him so much. I'll miss him.