Rest Easy, Grandpa. - 11.11.17
My last grandfather passed away early this morning on Veterans Day, he was a Veteran himself. I can still hear in my mind, pickup the phone and hear him say, “Hello!” in that quirky tone or how he would say “okie doke”, which was his queue to get you off the phone...he never said goodbye, it was just a hangup, but that’s who he was.
Grandpa had 9 kids - 8 boys and 1 girl...Mark, Steve, Ron, Dan, Joe, Chris, Billy, Jeff and Cindy. It was a busy life for him whether he was working, helping take care of the kids or taking care of the apple orchard in Miller. Grandpa lost his first wife, Rose due to a farm accident about ~40 years ago, so I never met Rose. He then later remarried my Grandma Dorothy, whom is a very sweet lady that likes to crotchet, watch her tv shows, play video poker and work on the garden.
He had a soft spot for giving back and was thoughtful. I remember hearing about a time that his neighbor (Mike and Eileen Madsen, my Sister’s in-laws) had lost a dog of their named, Molly who was a chocolate lab. Molly would wonder down to my Grandpa & Grandma’s house for a snack...typically an ice cream treat I would assume. Grandpa loved giving. When Molly passed him and Grandma brought Mike and Eileen a little stuffed animal chocolate lab, which was sweet and thoughtful of them.
Grandpa enjoyed gambling, whether he was in his living room playing video poker on his tv, playing poker on Facebook or going to the casino for a few days. When him and my Grandma would go to the casino they’d always get comped nice suites that would always have all sorts of goodies in the room...he’d always bring back every goodie from the suite...it was who he was. He was tight with his money and would rarely waste. Below is a photo that he posted on his Facebook profile from one of his casino games he probably played daily.
Grandpa also enjoyed spending time with my Sister’s kids - Carson, RaeLynn and Sawyer. I would hear stories where he would always load them up with sugar when they would stop down there. I’m fortunate enough that he got to meet my Son, Harrison a few times as well. A few nights before Grandpa passed, him and I were talking and I showed him a photo of Harrison and he asked to put that photo of Harrison on his phone...this really got me. It was special. Here’s a photo of Grandpa Bill with Carson at Halloween.
Some of my memories include going down to visit him and my Grandma in Branson, Missouri for a week where my Sister and I went to Silver Dollar City, did some fishing and most importantly got to spend time with them. Him and I went fishing at a pond near his home and I’ll never forget this - in fact this is a memory that I was sharing with his a couple days before he passed. My Dad had bought a video camera for the trip, so him and my Grandma could capture some moments of my Sister and I on our trip. Grandpa brought the video camera with and I remember Grandpa had the video camera around his neck...I was bringing in a fish at the time and needing some help getting the fish off the line...Grandpa bent down and over and BAM! the video camera drops in the lake! I was in shock, but at the same time I thought it was hilarious! Grandpa looked at me like “Oh, crap!”. We get back to the house and my parents arrive a few days later and my Dad asked about the video camera and my Grandpa chuckles...”Jeffrey dropped it in the water.” - serious face...I said, “No I didn’t Grandpa!”...I recalled the event to my Dad and Grandpa started laughing some more...little did I know, him and I would laugh about this the rest of our time we had together.
I remember going with him and my Grandma to bingo at the Senior Citizen Center is Mason City...it was such a fun time. I’ll never forget I was 1 number away from winning $400! Keep in mind, I was probably 10 or so at the time, so it was like a jackpot to me.
When my Grandpa and Grandma in Missouri we didn’t see them much. My Dad made it a point to get them back up here, so he built them a house where they could be right in town and be close, so we could grow up getting to know them. Whether Grandpa was sitting on his decks watching the traffic come down to the ponds (he’d patrol like a hawk). He’d always invite me to come up to have a snack when I was little, usually a drumstick or some ice cream sandwich...when I was older it was always a Heineken or Miller High Life.
There was a time in college where I sold NFL, MLB & NHL jerseys and I’ll never forget the day I walked into Prairie Retail (my Dad owned an appliance store and Grandpa helped work there) when I was back from college and he asked me how I was doing with them and said, “You know Jeffrey...you could really be selling these at the Casinos!”...I didn’t take him seriously...a few weeks passed and he had gone to the casino, he told me, “Hey, you really should sell these things there.” Long story short, I didn’t end up selling them, but the fact that he was always looking to help out and offer advice was admirable.
Apple Orchard - Grandpa owned the Apple Orchard for many years in Miller...it’s where my Dad, his brothers and Sister spent a majority of their lives. I don’t remember the apple orchard as well as my Sister does, but I do remember the times helping him pick some of the trees, cruising around in his yellow truck and eating all of the strawberries I could find in their strawberry patch.
Grandpa Bill taught me several life lessons, many that I’ll use the rest of my life and hopefully pass on to my children, but one that really stuck out - dedication.
Dedication - Grandpa and Grandma didn’t get around the best - Grandpa was was overweight, didn’t move around the best, but that didn’t stop him. I can’t think of a time that he wasn’t at a sporting events of mine, whether it was wrestling or cross-country. I remember there were some cross-country meets where him and Grandma would sit in their car to watch because it wasn’t easy for him to move around, but by golly he still showed up to show his support...or the endless Saturdays where he would show up to a hot gym to watch me wrestle. As I look back at these times and realize how much work it is really is to make time for these things, I realize that it wasn’t difficult for him because he was dedicated, he put it at the top of his list...he knew how important these things were to me and he made it a point to be there to show his support. I also think his dedication has had an impact on all of his kids as well.
Our family will miss Grandpa dearly...he is now with his first wife, Rose who was killed when my Dad was 9, during a farm accident and my Aunt Cindy who was been gone for ~10 years or so. I know that he will be missed my Grandma dearly and I hope that she has many good years ahead of her. She’s 92, but you’d never guess. She’s a very strong woman that has been through a lot in life and has overcome adversity many times.
Rest in peace, Grandpa. Love you.
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