My Grandpa

My Grandpa

For your enjoyment, here is my favorite photo of me with my grandpa. This was taken at my little sister's wedding that took place just over two years ago.

He is my mother's father. My grandmother passed away in the year 2002. Since then, he has lived in a house about 15 minutes away from my family's home. A few years ago, because of health problems, my aunt moved here from Indiana to live and take care of him.

His health slowly got worse as the years passed. In his final year, he was diagnosed with Colon Cancer.

Grandpa had a passion for family history and temple work. He spent countless hours giving service in the Logan temple until his health got worse and prevented him from leaving his home.

Despite his many health complications, including the fact that his hands were so painful he could only type with one or two fingers at a time, he continued to spend hours on his home computer indexing names for family history work. In the year preceding his death, he indexed over 51,000 names.

On Tuesday, March 22, 2013 I spent about 5 hours at the bedside of my dying grandfather. He passed away that night at about 12:55am, a couple of hours after I had left his home.

One part of me feels like it was a blessing he was released from his pain and suffering. I am grateful that he was able to pass on to the next life where he gets to live with my grandmother again. I know without a shadow of a doubt that he is in a much happier place.

But that doesn't stop me from missing him and hurting on the inside. I am so grateful for all of the lessons he taught, all the love he gave to me, his family, friends, and acquaintances, and for the positive differences he made in the lives of all those around him. He will be missed here on Earth.