A Great Man

It was not my intention to be away for this long.  Last week my grandfather passed, and while he's in a better place and we were prepared given his ailing health, it was still sad.  But since I like this blog to be a happy place, I'm going to focus the happy stories I have of him. (And Grandma, whom you all already know and love.  Think of him as the man behind the legend.)

Grandma and Grandpap were married for 69 years.  Hard to believe, huh?  While I recently learned the story of their first date, one of my favorites is the story of the months and years just following their marriage and how they came to set their life up together.

It was 1942 and Grandpap's mother wasn't real excited about him getting married, so the Monday after their wedding, she signed Grandpap up for the army.  Alas, being World War II and all, Grandpap was called to serve spending much of the war in Panama, protecting the canal and working with radar equipment.

While Grandpap was in the army, Grandma lived with her parents and took care of their new baby.   Later in life, Grandpap would enjoy his beer while playing cards, but while he was a soldier he didn't drink.  This became a competitive advantage during cards because he was able to come away with some reasonable winnings.  Those winnings are part of what he sent home to care for his wife and son.  Grandpap was adamant that Grandma not work and would send the money for expenses.

But Grandma, as we all know, is feisty and ignored his pleas.  She ended up working at the phone company, not telling Grandpap until he was back home.  At that time, calls home from soldiers were prearranged and family were expected to be able to receive the phone call at the designated time.  Unfortunately, Grandma was to be working at the scheduled call time.  She told her manager, after all it was the phone company, and they made arrangements for her to take the call in a private room at the phone company.  Grandpap was none the wiser.

Fast forward to when Grandpap arrived home and learned that his wife had saved every penny he'd sent, amounting to enough money to buy a plot of land and begin building a home.

I love this story because it clearly shows the foundation for how you get to be married for 69 years.  Still newlyweds during a time of war with a new baby, both knew what was best for their family.  Grandpap knew he needed to keep his wits about him and do what he could to send money for his family to be comfortable.  And Grandma knew that if she could keep that money and save, they could build their happily ever after.  And they did.  Seven kids later, grandkids and great grandkids, they had a life full of love, fun and wonderful memories.

I will only remember these wonderful stories because they give me faith that as Dave and I start our own foundation and make our own path, that we will have as much love for each other as they did and always know what's best for us.