How do you put an entire life into one speech? The honest answer is you can’t, especially for this wonderful man and the life he was blessed with.
He is a husband, a father, a grandfather, great, grandfather, uncle, friend and so much more to many people. Those titles are the things that he was most proud of in his life. He was a man who cherished and understood the value of family. His legacy lives on in all of us and we owe him the honor of continuing that legacy.
In his last week, he got to see his beautiful great grandbabies – Cloud, Lucca, Orion, and my son Peyton. He loved us all with his whole heart, but those babies trumped us all. I was fortunate enough to see him give Lucca and Orion gifts that made them light up like the Fourth of July and I saw the same spark in his eyes when he saw their reactions.
Before my son was born, I prayed relentlessly that my Papaw would hang on just long enough to meet him. That prayer was answered a few days before Papaw left us. The moment he held him and watched me with him I could feel how proud of me he was and how much he loved our son at first sight.
This is just a tiny story in a wonderful life, and there are so many more that his children, wife, grandkids, and other family members could tell you. Like I said before, there are never enough words to speak about such a worthy life, but here are a few more to show what an exemplary man he truly was.
He was a military man as a medic in the United States AirForce, the hardest worker you’ve ever met (since the time he was a teenager),and the ultimate provider for his family (and in this aspect his sacrifices were great), but he never saw it that way.
He would’ve given his life for any member of his family and in a way he did, for all of us. He fought this demon of a disease for years and I’ve never seen anyone fight harder. He didn’t want to miss a thing. It made me so proud to see how tough he was regardless of what he had to endure. Even through the end of his life, we could see his fighting spirit.
It’s the hardest part of our journey on Earth to lose someone that we all cherish and love so deeply, but we all believe he is restored and walking with Jesus again. We may not have received our miracle inthe way we selfishly wanted, but God worked so many miracles in our grandfather over the last few years. It was his time to be restored and with Jesus. I pray my family can believe that as my husband and I truly do. Sometimes”unanswered prayers” are for the best. We just must take the time to stop and realize that even if we don’t understand it.
He’s the Hero, Husband, Dad, and Papaw we will always remember. We love you, until we meet again.
Love always,
Your Favorite Dumbass
Soul on Fire 