Most of us were able to go down and spend time with him during his last days. My siblings and I rushed down the day before and the day of his passing. I was even able to help the hospice aid give him his final bath. That was a very sweet experience for me. I miss him but I know he is now free of pain and doing good work on the next side of life. I can't wait to be with him again.
Sophie holding his hand
Almost all the cousins and all of my aunts and uncles came into town for the funeral. The service was held in Mt. Pleasant and then we all traveled up to Heber for the graveside service and burial. All the children spoke and each one told stories that I had never heard. He was a fascinating man and accomplished a lot in his 90 years on this earth. A lot of old Heber friends and family came to that and even put on a dinner afterwards for the family. He was a man LOVED and RESPECTED by so many people. I took pictures of his program. My uncle Bill did an awesome job helping my Grandma put it all together.
Grandma has had her ups and downs with everything and will have to adjust to a new life without him. Right now she doesn't want to make any big changes but eventually I think she will be moving in with one of the daughters.
Some of my favorite memories of time with Grandpa...........
When I was about 10 we moved cross country and I road in the semi with Grandpa for part of the way. I remember at one point he said to me "who needs a radio when we have Mandi in the car!"
When I was younger I was out checking cows with grandpa and he got out of the truck and climbed up on a rolled up hay bail and started dancing on it.
I was around 12 and had been riding one of the horses Patty. She got bit by a big horse fly and bucked me right off. I went up to the house and laid on the couch and cried. Grandpa came and found me and said I had two choices - to lay there and cry or go get right back on Patty. He said he was there to make sure I picked the latter and walked back to the arena and put me right back on Patty.
In college I have lots of memories of going to their house in Mt. Pleasant and cooking and eating with them. We'd just sit and talk about all sorts of things. After most of my heart breaks I'd go get in the car and drive down to their place to cry and sleep it off.
Grandpa had a massive heart attack when I was 9 months pregnant with Sophie. I got a call saying he was being life flighted to UVRMC (hospital in Provo) asking if I'd go and meet the helicopter. I was the first one there and sitting in the waiting room I just prayed he'd be okay. Family trickled in and they stabilized him enough to decide if he needed open heart surgery. The surgeon met with Grandpa while I was at the bedside. Grandpa told him I was his personal nurse and that I needed to hear everything to help him make his decision. After he agreed to the surgery and the surgeon left he pulled me in and whispered that I was his favorite nurse ever! We both cried.
In 2010 I came across his mission journal in his office. I was fascinated by it and he and grandma agreed to let me take it and read it. After reading it I decided to type it up so we could make copies for everyone in the family. It took several months and Garlan even spent time helping me. Grandpa served in England and for a lot of his mission he was the counselor to the mission president. It was so cool to learn about him as a missionary and to read about things that happened on his mission that shaped who he was as a person.
A few weeks before he passed my mom brought him up this way on a drive. I got in the car with a my kids and we drove around my neighborhood and showed him our house that we are buying this summer. My mom then got out with the kids and gave me a little alone time with him. He knew who I was which was really special. He told me to honor and keep my covenants and then told me how much he loved me. He started crying and of course so did I. He told me that I have always been there for him and grandma and they knew they could call me for anything anytime. He promised me that I would have eternal happiness if I held tightly to my testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and continued to keep the commandments. It was very special and ended up being the last clear conversation I had with him before he passed away.
I am grateful I had all 4 of my grandparents for so long to create these memories!
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