I feel like I need to write down my memories of my grandpa (or "PaPa" as we called him). Not for my sake, but for Hallie's sake....and our future child(ren) who won't have have the blessing of meeting PaPa. Ya see, I don't imagine that my memories of him will ever fade. But I want Hallie to be able to read about him and what kind of man he was. I want her to be able to place a real person with the pictures that she sees on them together. This is precisely the reason that I take an insane amount of pictures. Memories......
Newborn Hallie meeting PaPa for the first time...it's so hard to believe that the two people standing next to me are gone
Christmas 2010
Summer 2011
Dear Hallie,
The PaPa you knew loved you so much. And not just a regular kind of love. It was enough to light up his eyes enough to erase the pain he felt, enough to form a smile of his lips that didn't go away until you left his sight, enough to keep him awake while you were around. Enough to use what little strength he had to hold you on his lap. Ya see, PaPa was very frail. He was in a lot of pain. And he was very tired. But when you came around, that all seemed to fade away. During his last few years he was a man of few words...that is unless he was asking about you.
Here's the PaPa I knew......
......he was a collector. A collector of everything. Literally. Watches, pens, calculators, gadgets, belts, glasses, etc. He was an electronic guru. If you needed something with a battery or motor fixed, he was your man. He loved computers. The man had a room full of electronics stacked from floor to ceiling. He was a woodworker. He made beautiful pieces that a lot of our family still has hanging in their homes. He even had an entire house devoted to holding his woodworking tools. We called it "the mansion." An ironic name of course considering it was a run down house with the porch falling in. But he would brave the hazards and work on his hobbies at the mansion in his spare time. The mansion is still standing and still houses all of his wood-working tools. It's a shame his hands weren't able to continue working into his later years of life. Hobbies aside, he was a man who worked hard. He served in the Army as a young man. He was a welder and a postal worker. He was the postmaster in Shattuck, OK for many, many years. He had a great love for photography. He is the reason to this day that I never leave the house without a camera. In other words, you can thank PaPa for the incessant picture taking I do. He was always behind the camera, never in front. I can remember him every Christmas manning a camera and a video camera at the same time. He always had the nicest cameras with those big long lenses. Honestly, when I think of PaPa, I imagine him with a camera around his neck. He was a provider. MeMe and PaPa had six children. MeMe was a homemaker and he brought home enough to support a family of eight. He loved animals. Their family had your standard cats and dogs.....but also unconventional pets like raccoons and rabbits. He let his ten grandkids take over the house with blankets, pillows and toys. We would sprawl out on the floor eating snacks and watching movies as little kids at MeMe and PaPa's house. He was always telling me tall tales which I always seemed to believe were true even though I knew better. I can picture him sitting in his chair playing with the numerous gadgets he would rake in at Christmastime. He was the gadget man. I remember one holiday we found a bag full of glasses he had collected and there were enough pairs for every family member to wear. So we took a picture with everyone sporting a pair. He was a strong man. A smart man. Your great-grandpa was a good man..... I hope this will be a way to remind you of that.
Love,
Mom
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