I want to start with a
short passage from an article that my uncle Rich read to us last night from a
recent issue of the Kearney Hub.
“Too
often it is those unexpected surprised--good or bad--that turn our lives upside
down. We get so caught up in our daily lives and schedules, we don’t believe we
have time for anything else, until that “something else” happens. We get so
comfortable with our lives that something out of the ordinary can throw us for
a loop. We get confused, frustrated and depressed when things don’t go as
planned, especially if we end up dealing with serious problems. How long this state
lasts, depends on our attitude and our basic life values. Those who live by
principles of faith and family have a grounding that helps them through tough
times. We choose how we’ll deal with situations that hurt emotionally,
physically, mentally, and spiritually.”
Our
family has recently been through some very tough times that have hurt in all of
those ways. But right now I hope we choose to deal with that hurt through love, faith, a
positive attitude, and determination, traits Grandpa Jack was never short
on.
It’s
so funny how in death announcements and obituaries and programs it often shows
birth and death dates. In between those dates is a dash. A dash to represent an
entire life. In my grandpa’s case, that dash should be long because my grandpa
lived a long life. He saw the flood of ’35 and dust storms so dark he thought
it was the end of the world. He told Zach several times that he was glad he
lived in the time he did. He was so privileged to live with all those old
characters in Riverton. And he lived long enough to meet his first
great-grandson, Austin. Although, for some reason, he always called him little
Pedro.
That
dash should also be incredibly wide. Grandpa squeezed a lot of these into all
those years. In that line of life, he sat on an island decoding messages in World War II (and also writing letters to a pretty
girl named Velma back at home). He worked hard and started up businesses that
not only supported his family, but also helped the community and eventually provided
jobs for his sons and grandson. He also raised five pretty wonderful children
(although I may be a bit biased.)
Grandpa
Jack had so many experiences in his life that there’s no way one person could
tell all his stories. I learned new things about him up to the week of his
passing. So I knew if I was going to speak about him at all today, I’d have to
listen first, just like he was always so good at doing for us. Last night, a large
group of his family, including all ten of his grandkids gathered in his home
and told stories. We laughed and we cried (or at least I did). And we
remembered a man that all of us were lucky enough to have in our lives. This is
what we remember.
We
remember Grandpa’s humor. It was rare that he wasn’t smiling or joking.
Although sometimes his jokes were pretty ornery. Grandpa was very close to Zach
and told him many stories. One that Zach shared was when grandpa was a kid. He
was so ornery as a kid that his family tied him to a clothesline on a leash.
The neighbor would come over and taunt him with candy. “I still don’t like that
guy” he’d say. But this experience didn’t stop him at all. In high school, he’d
ride his Model T around and lay back so it looked like no one was driving. Even
as an older man he was still playing pranks on his sons, especially Steve, and
lighting fireworks under tractors to scare people.
We
remember Grandpa as a provider. He took many of the grandsons to Hastings to
get haircuts with him and insisted on buying each of the boys suits for
graduated which is probably why they all look so sharp today. He always wanted
to pay for absolutely everything he could. He’d rather not eat than have you
pay for him. Toward the end, as he sat in the hospital he’d always ask, “Who
owns this place? Who do we gotta pay?” When someone would order food, he’d sit
up in his hospital bed and look for his wallet.
We
remember that Grandpa loved children. Many children of this church remember him
slipping us M&Ms during the service. He’d also slips nickels or quarters to
kids at bull sales. Even before he had his own children, he told the story of
taking a little boy in the Azores to go get ice cream. He also loved animals.
He loved to feed the dogs and would even bring chocolate milk and donuts out to
the farm for them. I remember watching him through dirt clods in the barn and
Steve’s dog would chase after them and a smile never left Grandpa’s face.
We
remember Grandpa as a role model. He made a big impression on his entire
family. He loved to read, especially in the winter months and both his daughter
Nancy and his son Todd learned to love reading too. He took the family on many vacations
and inspired my father’s love of travel. On a much smaller scale, I learned to
wink because of Grandpa. He always winked at me and it frustrated me that I
couldn’t wink back. I finally taught myself and in the very last memory I have
of my grandpa he winked at me and I winked back and he smiled and said, “That’s
my girl.”
We
remember Grandpa as selfless. In training for the air force, they had to wear
masks, but the mask didn’t fit one boy with a thin face. He was getting gassed
out so Grandpa held it for him while still carrying all of his own supplies. One story I like to tell is how one time after
he had heart surgery in Lincoln and several of us grandkids were taking turns
visiting him. He and I were sitting watching 60 Minutes together and out of the
blue, he turns to me and says “Rox? If you ever need anything extra up here at
college, you’ll let me know right?’ I assured him I would and he patted my hand
and said. “Watch out for the other yay-hoos too. You let me know if anyone
needs anything.” The man just went through major surgery and he was sitting in
bed worried about his grandchildren.
We
remember Grandpa as a hard-worker. When he was young, he handpicked corn at
4:00 in the morning when his grandpa woke him up. He’d chop the coca burrs
because Grandpa Alec didn’t like them. He milked cows and delivered milk before
school in the morning. 10 cents for a quart. 5 cents for a pint. He used all
that hard-earned money and bought himself a Model T for the grand total of $10.
He also had a garden of radishes to sell. He watered it with the belt of that
Model T. He never lost that work ethic. He drove the combine until he was 84
years old. He was proud of his work. After a job of moving bales or mowing he’s
say, “Seldom do you see a job that good.” Even when checked into the hospital,
they asked him if he had any concerns and David heard him say he was concerned
they wouldn’t get done with harvest.
We
remember Grandpa as an advocate for our education. He only went to college one
year but wanted that experience for every one of us. Kassie remembers him
always telling her to stop worrying about him and start studying. My dad always
tells the story of how he came back from college after his first semester and
told his dad he wasn’t going back to school and Grandpa said “Oh yes you are.”
Never gave him a choice in the matter. He didn’t want to settle for anything
but the best for his kids. Although he did warn us all about that dreadful
chemistry class. He “scraped out of there with a D.” Evidently Jacob didn’t
listen since he’s a biochemistry major.
But
most of all we just remember him as Grandpa. He was always very proud of that
role. He was very close to his own grandfather and wanted to be what Grandpa
Alec was for him to his own grandkids. He enjoyed being a grandpa more than
almost any other role in his life. One example of this joy is when my brother
Josh was little Grandpa asked him a question and Josh responded “Me don’t know
Grandpa.” After that, anytime Grandpa didn’t know an answer to a question he
answered the same way, “Me don’t know Grandpa,” tickled by his grandson’s
response. We enjoyed him just as much. Many of us remember going on rides in
the combine with him. He loved to take us on rides. Going on any kind of ride
with Luke driving was a different story. He gave us all beautiful memories that
we can carry with us for years to come. Matt remembers going fishing with him
as a kid. Shane remembers playing the card game “I Doubt It.” Brigitte
remembers when he’d slip money into her palm when he thought no one was looking
and tell her to “buy something nice.”
Many
nights as the sun set, my grandpa would look up at the sky and count the
airplanes. As the sun sets tonight and we put my grandpa to rest we will not be
counting only airplanes but also counting our blessings. We could have never
asked for a better man to call our grandfather. We love you Grandpa.
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