His Legacy

Losing a close family member is not only tremendously sad, it feels very bizarre to me.

My grandpa, mentioned in my previous blog, past away on Saturday, Feb. 5, 2005. He was 87 years old, and saying he had a full life doesn't come close to describing it. I knew him pretty well, but I still learned so much about him over the last week. He loved the outdoors (camping, fishing, water skiing - which he even did when he was 70 to prove he could still do it!), traveled to 49 states (to Alaska three times) and all the Canadian provinces, knew how to sew on a sewing machine that is well older than me, knew how to fix everything, was a builder from toys to quilt racks, and never smoked, drank or even swore. He wasn't perfect (he was pretty stubborn but I know LOTS of people like that), but he was pretty close to it I would say.

Yesterday scores of people came to pay their respects and say good-bye, and many stuck around for the memorial service, which triggered my hardest tears of the day. My cousin, Jeff, got up to say a few words, and gave this quote: "Character is what you do when nobody is looking"; in Grandpa's case, he had tons of it. He truely was a great person and loved by many. He set a great example for our family, and I hope we have and can continue to live up to it.

It's going to be weird not to see him at family gatherings. He has always been there, and after 29 years of having him around, I will miss him so much. This spring we will have a graveside service, and it may include a Color Guard as Grandpa was a charter member of the Otisco Fire Department. That will be a great honor, and he definitely deserves it.

Good-bye Grandpa Russell. We will miss you.