Grandpa and me in 1982 🙂

Last week my grandpa passed away at 93 years old. He had always impressed me with how much one man can do in one life. But as we went thru his papers and pictures my opinion of him only grew as I learned more about him. Some people maybe more worried about what you can inherit when a family member passes away but I want to learn from him and take those lessons with me as they are the most valuable things, besides memories, you can have. 

You can be anything you want to be.

Grandpa was a WWII veteran, father of 4, member of many lodges and organizations, he owned with my grandmother a steel construction company and put up huge buildings, he was a teacher, and though he never attended he was accepted to law school at a point in his life that most people wouldn’t even consider applying. He worked hard for each and every one of these things and it paid off.

Live life to the fullest.

We found a lot of pictures of my grandpa with so many friends, family and doing things you wouldn’t expect (dancing in tights and tutus with fellow lodge members is my fav pic). Everyone can get mired down in the day to day that they don’t think of all the awesome opportunities out there. I want to have pictures that my kids won’t be able to explain (tutu?!) because we had fun and lived!

Keep your humor.

Grandpa did a lot and went thru a lot. He earned his purple heart; He had and beat cancer more than once; He had multiple heart attacks; He was the last member of his generation left in our family. But I always remember him with a smile, a hug, and he was always good for a smart ass quip. He told you like it was but from him you never minded it. I want to be like that.

Thursday we’ll be going to Fort Custer National Cemetery to bury him with full military honors as someone who was as great as him deserved. If everyone strove to be as great as my grandfather just think what the world could be.