Saying Goodbye to My Grandpa

This past week, we said goodbye to my sweet grandpa, my dad's dad.

He actually passed away earlier in August, but due to COVID, his funeral was delayed a few weeks. Since he was deserving of a full military service, we had to wait for an available time for his burial at Fort Sam Houston. So I traveled to San Antonio for the small family service. 

My sweet grandpa enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1947 {when he was just 17 years old!} and proudly served his country for 31 years. He had a tour in Korea and two tours in Vietnam. He had a distinguished career, earning numerous awards, medals, and achievements. He retired at the rank of Command Sergeant Major and was awarded the Legion of Merit upon retirement. He then moved to civil service, where he served as a Military Specialist Proponency Analyst until his final retirement in 2003.

He enlisted in the Army when he was 17

Vietnam 1969

Vietnam 1969

While I grew up hearing stories from my grandpa's military service, I mostly remember the sweetness of him just being my grandpa. He was certainly a straight-laced, serious military man in all aspects of his life. But over the course of my lifetime, I was able to witness the softening of my grandpa's rough edges. Whether it was the smiles of pure joy when his kittens would snuggle up close to him, or the joy and pride in which he spoke of his great-grandchildren...under that rough exterior was a big old softie :)

My grandparents were married for 69 years {would have been 70 this October}. While my grandparents' marriage was not perfect, it was certainly a testament to faithfulness and commitment. My grandpa faithfully took care of my grandma until the end. He might have been noisy and opinionated about it {you just had to know my grandpa and smile as you think about it}, but he worried about and fussed over her, as he cared for her in her dementia. 

This recent season of COVID has been tough in so many ways. Telling my grandpa he had to shelter in place did not go over well. My parents were able to visit at the window, but to keep everyone safe, they were unable to go inside. Despite all of the restrictions, the senior living facility where they stayed was amazing and wonderful, allowing close family to visit my grandpa in his last days. Unfortunately, I was unable to make it in time {he passed the evening that I made it into town}, but I am so thankful that my parents and aunt were able to see him and say their goodbyes. 

It was sad and hard to say goodbye, but I am so thankful for my grandpa's life. It is such a unique gift that this is the first grandparent that I have lost...at 35 years old! Who gets to say that? I am thankful that all of my kiddos got to meet him, and that he got to enjoy and dote on his great-grandchildren. And I am so thankful that we got to celebrate him at his 90th Birthday party last fall. It was a sweet celebration with the whole family, and I will always hold that memory close.