Grandpa Bill

My Grandpa Bill would have been 87 years old this past Monday. He always seemed invincible to me. I always told Tom that I could never picture Grandpa Bill dying. Ironically, in the end, I had never seen somebody more ready to go. He had been living (miraculously pretty pain free) with bone cancer and had out-lived doctors' time frames by well over a year. He had lived a great and fulfilling life and really was just ready to get a move on. It was no secret that it was mainly because he couldn't wait to be reunited with this beautiful woman....
He and my Grandma Cherie.....never have I seen a more adoring couple. They truly, truly loved each other and were such a good example of a happy marriage. That's probably the biggest thing I will take away from them. In fact, a favorite memory of mine was watching them at a family Christmas party at their house a year or two before my grandma passed away. They sat by each other hand in hand, quietly watching all their posterity running around (4 children, 25 grandchildren, ?? great-children). Without knowing anybody was watching them and in a moment of such obvious joy and pride, my grandpa looked at my grandma and quietly said, "I sure love you, Cherie." Sweet doesn't describe it.

And I owe a lot to these two people. In 1951, not long after they had welcomed a Senior Missionary couple into their home, my grandparents became members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Because of their decisions to be baptized, my life is forever changed. And that goes for the rest of my family and now generations to come. (Even my mom, although she had had an interest in the church earlier in her life, was baptized by my dad shortly after they began dating. Their first "date" was actually to church.)

Now, not all my memories of my grandpa are sweet ones. Lots of them are fun/funny....tick-tock, magic tricks, licking and sealing envelopes for money, songs about beautiful brown eyes, stories of the Roo-roo-roo(sp?) and Super-Fatso. Some of my memories are even mortifying....racy stories he would tell to new boyfriends within 30 seconds of meeting them, for example. He had quite the sense of humor and stayed mentally sharp until the very end.

If it sounds like I love my grandpa, that's because I do. And I'm confident that the feelings are mutual. I even have the proof in writing....

(Rumor has it that all the granddaughters have this same certificate with their name on it, but I have yet to see one in person. So until then, I know the truth.)

My grandpa probably affected way more lives than I even know and he will most definitely be missed!