Saying Goodbye to Grandpa

This picture is from this past summer when we were on vacation in Utah. My Grandma and Grandpa Crosbie were able to come to my nephew's blessing, and I felt a strong prompting that I needed to get a picture of my kids with them. I'm so grateful that I did because on Tuesday, December 29th my Grandpa passed away.

My family didn't grow up living close to our grandparents. We lived in California, and they all lived in Utah. I remember loving our annual trip to Utah to visit all the relatives. My Grandpa had a huge garden, and would spend much of his day working in it. In the evening he would take us down to the basement and let us pick from his large selection of ice cream flavors. He loved playing card games, so we would usually learn a new game each time we visited. My Grandpa seemed to always have a smile on his face. He was very friendly and social, and could never make it through a trip to the store without seeing several people that he knew.

When Mike and I were engaged, I had the opportunity to live with my Grandma and Grandpa while I waited for Mike to finish at Ricks. It enabled me to be close enough to see Mike once every couple of weeks. I was able to develop a closer relationship with them, and my appreciation for them grew. They took such good care of each other, and truly loved one another. I will always be thankful for that time I spent with them.

A few years after we got married and moved to Salt Lake, my Grandpa suffered a brain aneurysm. He was Life Flighted down to Salt Lake, and I was able to be there at the hospital when he arrived. I spent many days, weeks, and months visiting him and my Grandma in the hospital while he recovered. This too was a time that I will always be thankful that I had with them. They provided me with a great example of love, faith, courage, and endurance.

On New Years day I was able to fly out to Utah so that I could be at my Grandpa's funeral. Everything fell into place so perfectly. My youngest brother and I flew in within 20 minutes of each other, and then my sister and her family picked us up and drove us straight up to Logan. We were able to be there in time to attend his viewing at the mortuary. There we were able to meet up with aunts, uncles, and cousins, some that I haven't seen for more than 4 years. There are 24 grandchildren, and 23 of us were there. The only one that wasn't able to attend is serving a mission. We all went over to my Uncle's house after the viewing for dinner, and were able to visit and reminisce about Grandpa.

My cousin Jim and I spoke at the funeral about our memories of Grandpa. We were able to talk about the memories that were mentioned by all of the grand kids the night before. The funeral was really nice. My Grandpa served in the military, and was given military honors at the cemetery, complete with the rifles being shot 3 times. He was also very proud of his Scottish heritage, and so there was a bagpipe played at the cemetery as well.

We went back to the church after the cemetery for lunch. This is a picture of me, my cousin Jenni, and my sister Nicole. People often think Jenni is our sister too.

My family

My family was nice enough to indulge me in a dinner at Cafe Rio. I went back to Salt Lake the next day, and was able to spend the evening with Mike's parents and his brother and wife. I headed home the next day.

It was such a nice trip and I am so grateful that I was able to go and say goodbye to Grandpa Crosbie one last time. He will truly be missed.