grampa

One week ago tomorrow, my dear grandpa Jerry passed away. His health had been on the decline for the past three years so we are so thankful for the time we had with him. Barrett and I traveled to Nebraska last Wednesday and were able to see Grampy and say good-bye while he was still very alert and conscious. The family spent two more grueling days with him in the hospital before ushering him into his eternal home.

The weekend of his death offered a very unique opportunity to remember what a wonderfully funny man my grandpa was and to share with family and close friends in the real stuff of life. Overall, it was a beautiful time.

Needless to say, I have been thinking a lot about Grampy Jerry and all the wonderful memories I have of him. Here are just a few that have been ruminating in my brain that I will continue to cherish.

- His sense of humor: I was often surprised by the hilarious things that would come out of my grandpa's mouth--most of which were very inappropriate. He was infamous for answering the phone "Jack's Mule Barn, this is Kelly. Jack ain't here." When I was little, I remember being very puzzled by this greeting as we were not at a mule barn and his name was not Kelly, but as I got older, this cracked me up.

- Jerryisms: Grampy had more funny sayings for stuff than anyone I have ever met. As a father of all girls, his word for sanitary protection was "man-hole-covers." He also had countless euphemisms for farting. One time after a particularly noisy one he said, "Well, at least we know that still works." Priceless.

- Grampy's favorite places: No matter what time I saw Grampa Jerry, there was a 99% chance that he was in one of two places: (1) hunched over the kitchen counter watching tv with a cigarette and cup of coffee or (2) sitting in his lazy-boy (with Lady or Scamper, the dogs) in his lap either reading or watching tv with a cigarette. In both cases, he would also be wearing a snore strip. I will never look at that lazy-boy, kitchen counter, or breath-rite strips without seeing him.

- Not knowing a stranger: People have said this about my grandpa for years. When I was little, this translated into him starting conversations with anyone and everyone we encountered (I particularly remember this with waitresses). He spent hours a day driving around town in his blue pickup truck and talking with absolutely everyone he came in contact with. As I grew older, I realized that no matter where Grampy went he made a friend; he was never haughty or intimidated. I so admire his humility and friendliness and hope that I can be more like that one day. I don't think I truly appreciated this trait until it was insulted. The wedding party and family were getting lined up in the church the day I got married, and of course, my Grampa Jerry was chatting (and probably flirting with bridesmaids) when the wedding nazi (the lady from the church with a horrible temper) told him to "Shut up!" I have never been more insulted in all my life. No one tells Grampy to shut up.

- Big guns: When I was little, Grampy Jerry was the strongest man I knew. His arm muscles fascinated me as he had some serious guns. I still don't know how he was so ripped into his sixties.

- Generosity/Stewardship: no matter what I ever needed, Grampa Jerry had something that would do the trick and he was always so excited to give it away. He did this for everyone in town. But the really impressive thing was that in spite of the piles and piles of what looked like junk in the infamous basement, he could locate the item in question without any struggle or rummaging. He and my granny also re-use absolutely everything from margarine containers to pill bottles.

- Booker: In preparation for Barrett's first trip to Nebraska when we were dating, Grampa told everyone in town that my boyfriend Booker was coming. The entire weekend, people were coming up to him saying, "Oh, you must be Booker!" We called him Booker all last week just for old times' sake.

- The Turn Around: Whenever we said good-bye, Grampa would say, "God Bless, good luck, see you on the turn around!" To this day, I don't know what the "turn around" is, but it is comforting to know that we will see him again on the eternal "turn around."

- Luke 2: Every Christmas, Grampa Jerry would recite the Christmas story from Luke 2 at the table. His cadence was so unique. It will be impossible to replicate.

- Salt and Pepper: We shared many meals together as a family, and Grampy was always the last to finish. The family joke was that by the time Grampa was finished putting salt and pepper on his food, most of us were finished eating.

- Open arms: I cannot say that I appreciated or even knew how welcoming and compassionate my Grampy was until I was older. I knew that my grandparents were awesome, but I didn't realize how awesome until I was an adult. When my mom remarried, my grandparents welcomed all seven (yes, 7!) of my step siblings into their family, no questions asked. They were just as much their grandparents as they were mine. I will never forget how wonderful it was to see them welcome so many people into their family.

My Grampa Jerry was truly a unique man. He was friendly, loving, hilarious, and sometimes a little rough around the edges. If you want to get a little taste of what he was like, watch the this video. He will be dearly missed.