Tribute to Grandpa

My sister and I were asked to speak at Grandpa's funeral last week and to prepare a tribute to him. With only a couple of days to think about it, we were surprisingly able to come up with memories of Grandpa that reflect how we felt about our relationship with him. It was hard to speak at the funeral, but I think it was a good process for us to prepare it and speak the words out loud.


Here is what we prepared, divided by what I wrote and what Erin wrote:

My portion:

In preparing for this moment, we found it difficult to sum up our 27 and 24 respective years of knowing Grandpa into a just a few minutes. We will attempt to articulate the memories we have of Grandpa and share the value of the relationship we had.

Grandpa was always gentle and compassionate; he loved us from our first moments on this earth. Looking back at pictures it is obvious that Grandpa loved his grandkids, each one he welcomed into the family with excitement and delight. From an early age, we both knew that Grandpa was a special person in our lives, someone who was willing to listen, willing to play and willing to just “be” part of our lives.

In 1988 our family moved from Winnipeg to Phoenix, Arizona; this changed our relationship but our connection with Grandpa was still strong as evidenced in each visit. We enjoyed Grandpa and Grandma’s visit to Phoenix one Christmas; we even acted out the Christmas story with each family member assigned a part to play. A few years later we made another move to BC and Grandpa and Grandma were able to drive us from Phoenix to Delta, BC. It was a long road trip but we stopped at Disneyland along the way – much to our delight! We have many great memories from that trip and the time spent together.

We enjoyed many visits over the years, often at summer time. Each visit was an opportunity to reconnect and to just be with family, with Grandpa. Grandpa was always interested in the details of our lives, asking questions and listening to what we had to say. When I got engaged, he was excited to welcome Brian into our family, right from his first meeting. Grandpa was always accepting and encouraged us to make good choices, but he supported us in all that we did. He was passionate about life, about politics, about golf and about his family. I was able to share his last golf game when Grandpa was 88; he kicked my butt even at 88, he was a good golfer! He was ambitious in writing his book and sending us each a diskette copy of his drafts. It was a joy to know him and to share in his excitement in life.

Erin's portion:

To me, Grandpa was the epitome of everything a grandpa should be. As a little girl, I looked forward to Grandpa’s visits for a myriad of childish reasons. We didn’t have a dishwasher in our house, and the washing up duties were part of Alyssa and my chores. When Grandpa was around, he would so often volunteer to do the washing up, and this was a major highlight of the visit for a 7 year old, as was the almost certain guarantee of getting to have KFC at least once during the trip. Grandpa never forced us to finish our meals, instead, he would state that we would now “feed the fishes” and would make good use of the sink disposal. Grandpa never chastised me for the amount of ice cream I would scoop into my bowl, even when mom or dad would give me a disapproving look. Grandpa understood the value of good ice cream.

As I got a bit older, however, I started to understand the value of Grandpa’s visits in a slightly different light. Don’t get me wrong, I still appreciated the KFC, but suddenly I started to recognise the important truths behind Grandpa’s actions. His willingness to wash our dishes was a representation of his willingness to serve others and work on their behalf. His compassion and understanding was apparent, whether he was allowing us to leave the table without finishing our plates or he was wrapping us in a hug and drying our tears. He was always gentle and kind, he was my intercessor and support, standing up for me, and all of us, in prayer and love.

Though we might have not quite seen eye to eye on certain things, including the entertainment value of watching golf and baseball on tv, Grandpa was everything I could have asked for in a Grandpa and we were so blessed to have him.

My portion (read together):

It is difficult to say goodbye, even though we know he is in Heaven and that he feels no pain and cries no more tears. We would like to share a poem as a tribute to Grandpa:

He was a listening ear, always ready to hear;
He knew how to laugh, and encouraged all to join in;
He always found joy, in the daily livin’;
He loved God and displayed his faith in many ways;
He played with children and delighted in each new baby;
He lived long and lived well;
He endured tragedy and pressed on to find love and joy;
He worked hard and taught his children work ethic;
He has left us on earth, but waits in heaven;
We will see him again, when God’s timing is perfect;
It is hard to say goodbye when we know how much we miss him!