I love you Grandpa

I don't have many good pictures of Grandpa, but I thought he looked so tender in this one as he gazed down at his grandson, Daniel. Judging by the ages of us kids, it must have been taken in about 1987.
There are so many little things I remember about Grandpa...
~ The way he would get up early in the morning in Lake of the Pines and go around feeding dogs, or blowing his conch shell to scare the deer away from his garden
~ His amazing ability to cup his hands and blow and make music come out. He was patient enough to teach me when I was younger, but I couldn't make the melody trill the way he could. I was always fascinated by that.
~ Grandpa's silly side. He was always calling us kids"Twinkle toes" or "Little boy blue" and he loved to knock on the table and tell us to go answer the door. With really little kids, he'd meow or tickle their toes. My mom has one of my favorite pictures of Grandpa: he's holding a little umbrella that my sister received for a Christmas present, and prancing around under it in a very silly way!
~ His love of music and poetry. When Grandpa was getting quite old, I remember several times when some aspect of the conversation reminded him of a poem. He'd enthusiastically quote a line from it (or what he remembered of the line) and I wish I knew what he was quoting from. If anyone knows any of his favorite poems, let me know! I think there was one about "a golden boy with eyes of blue" or something like that. I also remember how Rebekah would play Amazing Grace on the piano and he would sing along, each time acting like the song was something new and wonderful.
I'm sure many more memories will come to the surface over the next few days, but this is it for now. I love you Grandpa.

Grandpa's Shoes

Most of my memories of Grandpa Gil involve his running shoes. As a little girl, I thought it was the greatest thing that my Grandpa didn’t wear old codger shoes and shuffle around being cranky. He was vibrant, full of life, laughter and mischief; and in my memory he was always wearing running shoes, going at top speed, and urging the rest of us to keep up.

I remember trying to keep up with Grandpa and his running shoes as we walked through Disneyland, Alpine, historic Folsom, and Lake of the Pines. I remember tagging along behind him and his running shoes as he worked around his house, tended the garden, and did his best to thwart those pesky deer. I remember following him and those running shoes with anticipation as he showed me where to look for the tiny frogs around their yard that fascinated me so much.

Those shoes have become for me a symbol of Grandpa’s energy, of his delight in life, love, and humor, and his eagerness to experience and share. They represent his wonderful ability to take us places, show us things, and to keep us laughing along the way.

I also have many other cherished memories of Grandpa Gil that don’t involve those shoes: the countless times he pulled the “got your nose” gag on me; his continual joking and ribbing; the way he would end the night saying “I’m goin’ upstairs to warsh ma teeth!”; the way he would greet me each day by declaring “Good morning, sunshine!”; and later on in life when his memory began to fade, the way he would refer to me as “the one who sings,” which always made me feel loved and recognized even though he could no longer remember my name.

My most recent memories are of Christmas Eve family dinners and visits to his care center with my husband and son. I treasure those opportunities to spend just a little more time with him and to give David and Rhys a chance to get to know him as well; seeing the gleam return to his eye during a lucid moment; hearing him and Grandma giggle and tease each other with their heads bent together; watching his eyes well up with tears, causing my own to do the same, as I sang to him a few precious last times.

All of these wonderful memories I have of Grandpa Gil will stay with me forever, but I believe my favorite ones, the ones that will remind me to do my best to keep up with the amazing person he was, will be my memories of Grandpa’s shoes.

Farewell and much love Grandpa, until we meet again. You faithfully completed your mission on this earth, and left behind some pretty remarkable tracks for all of us to follow

Grandpa enjoying the music at his 98th birthday party

My Grandpa Gil

My first vivid memory of Grandpa Gil that I have was when I was a small child, probably 9 years or so after he and Grandma got married. They lived in California so we only got to see them once or twice a year. I looked so forward to those visits. At first he seemed so elusive to me, a new grandpa to get to know. I was very drawn to him and wanted him to love me. I would follow him around and ask him to do things and listen to things, but he was very busy visiting with the grown ups and didn't seem to have much time to get to know me. I observed that he was gone every morning when I got up. Pretty close to stalking him I guess! I waited until he got back and asked him where he had been. He made some comment about it being none of my business with a grin in the corner of his mouth. I asked again anyway and he told me that he went to breakfast every morning. I thought great! My ticket to alone time with him! I asked if I could come and he said no, because I wouldn't be able to get up that early. That was that until, I got up at 5:30 am and sat on the front porch waiting for him! At about 6 am he came out and looked at me with surprise, then grinned, and said "come on, let's go!" Grandpa Gil took me to a breakfast diner and bought me pancakes and juice. He read his paper and we talked. I felt so special and knew that I had gained a little respect from him that day. After that our friendship began to grow.

Later when I was 12, Grandma and Grandpa invited Tiffany Crum and I to go to Canada with them. That trip is very dear to my heart. I was able to get to know my Grandpa even more and see how much he loved my Grandma. He made her laugh and treated her like a princess. Tiff and I loved every minute.

The last few years I was lucky enough to have Grandma and Grandpa move to Utah. We were able to have Christmas and Thanksgiving dinners together, birthday parties and BBQ's. Grandpa always had a joke to tell or a story. My children love him as I do. He was so strong and lived an amazing life. On his birthday last year, he helped pilot an airplane one last time. My family and I were not at the airport but waiting in the same town, in my yard watching the sky. We got the call that he was headed our way and the kids starting jumping up and down. They were so proud of him! We heard the engine and he raced over our heads as we waved and shouted to him. What a guy!

Yesterday, Grandpa took a different kind of flight back to his eternal home, after he served almost a 100 year mission here on earth. Grandpa, I love you. I hope you are enjoying your friends and family that you have missed. I hope you have your own jet in a private hanger and that your next adventure will be just as grand. Don't forget to leave the porch light on for the rest of us.

A Few of My Favorite Things...

Wow, I guess I get to be first by virtue of the time difference between Utah and London.

These are few of my favorite things about Grandpa:
-As Kris (Babb) says, he was full of joy and energy.
-He would ask about my life in Houston and would then go on to tell me one story or another from when he lived there as a young man.
-The picture of him from when he was a minister, I would look at that and imagine being back in time. I would have liked to see how his community responded to him, I'm sure he was held in high regard. What a classy man.
-You could see the love between he and Grandma, caught in a quick glance or as they would hold hands on a walk. He treated her with a tender sweetness.
-His bird calls and the farewells he would play on his conch shells as we would leave their house.

-He was such a teaser and particularly loved to tease Grandma.

In his final years, he would often have a hard time remembering who I was but the very last time I saw him, at Christmas, he knew me. As Grandma, Brent and I sat talking, Grandpa just sat there smiling, lost in his own memories, when he all of a sudden said (in reference to Grandma who was fresh out of the shower with no make-up on or her hair done) "You know, she's a very beautiful woman...when she tries" and then rolled with laughter at himself. His sense of humor was so light and loving. That is the Grandpa I will remember.

Please give each other hugs from me at his service this weekend. I will look forward to hearing all about it.