A Sad Day

My heart is broken today.

I haven't mentioned it before because I was trying to keep the blog happy and upbeat but my Grandpa has been in the hospital since April. The doctors found a tumor on the lining of his brain that was 4 inches wide. They had to do surgery to remove it.



The surgery was in early April and then they moved him to a rehab facility. Actually the same rehab facility that Nana had been in last year when she fell and broke her wrist and pelvic bone. Grandpa seemed to be doing well when I visited him at the rehab center just before Easter. He was sitting up and talking to us and seemed to be carrying the conversation without much difficulty. He was much more alert and capable than I had expected him to be.

Unfortunately I must have caught him on a good day because soon after that he had several setbacks, the worst of which was that he developed an infection after the surgery and they had to do another surgery to go back in and clean out the infection. He came through the second surgery well and I had expected him to be back at the rehab center shortly after.

I don't know what happened, but for some reason he never really came back after the second surgery. They were giving him a lot of pain medicine and he was sleeping most of the day. It was difficult for him to stay awake long enough for a visit really. He wasn't cooperating with anyone as far as eating or doing things for himself. He just kind of gave up.

Grandpa, Bailey, and myself when Bailey we just a week or so old.

Yesterday afternoon Grandpa passed away peacefully surrounded by loved ones. He's in a better place. He's in heaven with Jesus, waiting patiently for Nana. I say patiently because not only was my Grandpa an incredibly patient man, but he wants Nana to stick around here a lot longer.

Grandpa reading to Bailey.

My Grandpa was a great man. A really great man. Probably one of the best men I've ever known. He was a hardworking entrepreneur. He was an amazing father and grandfather and great grandfather.

Nana and Grandpa, Bailey's first Christmas.

He was the most loving, caring, thoughtful husband. I've honestly never seen a couple so in love as Nana and Grandpa. He was a deacon at our church for years. I have no doubt that Grandpa is in heaven. No one was more devoted to the Lord or to his family than Grandpa.

Grandpa and Bailey when she was about 4-5 months old.

I don't have a lot of good pictures of him. He didn't much care for the camera. Whenever we pointed the camera at him he would block his face with his hand. Except when there was a grandbaby with him. He would always allow pictures when he was holding a grandkid.

Aunt Rea and Grandpa as kids.

I have heard stories from my great Aunt Rea that Grandpa was a great older brother, even if he did try to sell her for a nickel to their Uncle Russel when she was first born.

Grandpa and Nana at Bailey's first birthday party.

If my calculations are correct my Grandpa was 74 years old and he and Nana had been married for 58 years. He lived an exceptional life. It was not a life of money and possessions but a life of love and family. He will be greatly missed but his life is celebrated.