Last January we celebrated Grandpa Robert's 100th birthday! All the kids, grand kids, great grand kids and great, great grand kids were there. The moment that stuck out was when Carolyn walked by Grandpa and he looked up at her, winked and said "wait a minute, I need to talk to this good looking one a little more".
Every Thanksgiving, since I was born, was at Grandpa's house and all the family would be there; this went on for over 45 years and just stopped 4 years ago when we changed it to my house.
A lot of the time was spent with my Dad and his brothers telling stories about Grandpa. He was a rough young man and loved to drink and fight. Grandpa could drink whiskey like no one I have ever seen and he did it a lot. My Dad said it wasn't unusual for the bartender to call him and tell him to come and get his Dad before the cops took him. There are also a lot of crazy stories about him and his motorcycle.
Grandpa actively worked his farm until the age of 86 and worked hard all of his life. He has only been in the hospital twice for health related issues- if you exclude the motorcycle wrecks and broken bones and cuts from his fighting years.
This past weekend Grandpa fell into a coma and we put him on Hospice. He is resting comfortably on a morphine drip.
I am certain that he will only be with us a day or two more and he will be missed but we all know that he lived a full life and it lasted so much longer than most.
Grandpa was not really a religious man but I think God will welcome him in just because you never want to cross my Grandpa and you sure do want him on your side.
Greg