BEDA Day 10: In Memoriam

I can't believe it's been five years since my grampy passed away. I think about him every single day, and I miss him like crazy. Because I'm completely exhausted from a day at Sports Ohio with my kids and because I haven't gone back to read it in a while, I'm going to post the words I spoke at Grampy's memorial service.

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My grampy was a lot of things: a father, a teacher, an author, a baseball fan, and a friend. But all those things made him something else: an adventurer. He wasn’t one to sit back and let life pass him by.

As a teenager, Grampy saw Babe Ruth hit a home run at the very first All-Star Game. When he could see that America was going to get involved in World War II, he joined the army. His teaching took him around the world, to exciting places like India and Nigeria. And Grampy’s adventures certainly didn’t end after he retired. In recent years, he flew in a 1920s biplane and a 1939 Ford tri-motor, and he joined my cousins on a HumVee ride through the Arizona desert. He continued to travel as well, visiting friends and family around the country, as well as voyaging overseas. “Boring” was one word that never described my grampy. How many people do you know that flew to China on their 89^th birthday?

In addition to all the important, exciting events in Grampy’s life, he had the ability to turn the smallest things into adventures. My first memories of Grampy are at his house in Virginia, which was filled with fascinating things to see and do. The marble roller was probably the highlight of the house, followed closely by the cuckoo clock. I loved to watch Grampy wind it. My cousins and I could be entertained for hours by watching Grampy’s model trains and riding with him on the garden tractor. I even loved to sit in the kitchen with Grampy and watch the neighbor's cows.

He always managed to turn dinnertime into an adventure too, often by arguing with my dad for the check. Once, he ordered clam chowder for an appetizer and liked it so much that he ordered it again for dessert! And then there was the super-strong airport coffee...but that's another story altogether. Of course, if you spent more than five minutes with my grampy, you were sure to be treated to some great, or terrible, puns. He made sure to pass his love of wordplay on to his children and grandchildren.

Grampy made learning exciting for everyone, from his college calculus students to my first grade class. When we studied Antarctica, he came to show slides and talk about the trip he and Grammy took to the bottom of the world. Even when my classmate's father brought a real penguin to our school, I thought there was nothing cooler than the big, red parka Grampy showed.

Shortly after Grampy's death, one of my friends reminded me of something said by a character in the Harry Potter books: “To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.” I think we can all agree that my grampy had a well-organized mind, and I am sure he was not afraid to leave this earth. I know he was looking forward to seeing Grammy and his parents and his Savior. We can only imagine what adventures he's having right now!