Grandpa and E, August 2008We just found out that N’s grandpa passed away last night.
He was a wonderful man. Until his health went downhill we would see him once or twice a year when he stayed with us to attend local genealogy conferences. We loved having him around.
My own grandfathers died before I was born so he was the only grandpa I really knew and I loved spending time with him. He was a Grandpa straight out of central casting–funny and caring but with an ornery streak and the tendency to say slightly scandalous things and the self-awareness to enjoy saying them. Every once in a great while he would drop an outdated racial epithet in a conversation but I think he mostly did it to get a rise out of us and so we would chide him, “Grandpa, you can’t say that anymore!”
Being in his company was like being plunged into an ocean of Grandpa-y-ness. It was awesome.
He was always unfailingly kind to me and went out of his way to make me feel welcome as a member of the family. I will miss his humor, his wit, his kindness, and the example he set as a man devoted to his family and the Lord. We will miss him but I know that he’s with his wife and other loved ones now. I believe that families can be forever and that I’ll see him again.
Grandpa, we love you.
I'm so sorry for your loss.
Sorry to hear of N's grandfather's passing.
Thank you so much for your tribute to my brother, Byron Richard Coltrin. When he and Betty moved north, we kind of lost track of one another, but your story and photo touches my heart. With your permission, I will send this blog address to Aunt Dorothy in Colorado. You have done a wonderful family thing.
Aunt Myrl Pardee