(Sorry to post two entries in a row about death, but the only coincidence of this occurance is life itself. I’ve been too busy to write, and as emotions would have it, I’ve only been inspired to write when someone I knew and someone I loved passed on.)
Two days shy of his 97th birthday, my Grandpa Ed passed away. In the photo here to the right, he’s the guy all the way on the right. His sister Martha is in the middle, and his other brother Carl (who needless to say needs his own domain name and book devoted to him) is on the left. Carl used to say that in this photo, he looks like Paul Castelano two days after he got whacked. 🙂
My Grandpa lived a great life, and he will be missed by all. Born in Chicago in 1909, my Grandfather worked hard his whole life. By the age of 5 in 1914, my Grandpa and his family moved from Chicago to Brooklyn, NY where he lived until 1977. Until 1970, my Grandfather worked as a butcher for Swift Meats, now a division of Conagra Foods. My Grandpa was one of the few people I knew who worked hard and lived harder through the Roaring Twenties, and also during and after the collapse of the economy in 1929. Stories he used to tell me from the ‘hard days’ make anything anyone is going through, now pale in comparison. By 1977, he and his wife moved out to Long Island with my parents and myself. I was 2 at that time. He loved it out here — he had a tomato and basil garden, and loved to sit on the back deck drinking a bloody mary or two.
I’m sad, and I know it’ll take a while for me to get used to the new normal. My circumstances are a little different because I lived with my grandfather since I was 2 years old, and right now, I’m 31. I was around him my whole life. He was basically my second father.
Luckily, I have lots of wonderful memories, and even though he passed on while I was away on vacation, I did say “goodbye” to him like I always would before I leave for a trip. So, I do have some comfort in that.
I also have comfort in the way he died. He was mentally sharp right until the end, and he did not suffer in death. He ate pizza, beer and ice cream with my parents while watching the NY Giants (win and play well to boot) the night before he died, and he then passed on in his sleep – peacefully.
My Grandfather was a special man. He took care of his ill wife for many years until her death in 1996. He had a passion for cooking and baking, often dinner for himself and family until about 2 weeks before he died.
He stopped driving only 3 years ago, when he made the decision that he no longer could drive safely.
He cleaned his place himself, and in general he was very independent.
He loved to travel, and go on cruises or to Las Vegas with my parents, as well as take trips to Rhode Island to see his Son, Ed.
Boy, he loved to eat. And he loved to cook. Breakfast, lunch or dinner, he was always up for eating and also eating anything from ice cream to slices of pepperoni at 11PM. As I’d walk in the house sometimes at 10:30 or 11 at night, throwing a laundry in before I’d throw myself in my bed to sleep, he’d be bent over, looking deep into the fridge for something – anything – to eat before bed. It didn’t matter if it were ice cream, pickels or pepperoni, he loved it all.
He loved playing on the computer, and using the computer in general. He would watch TV at night until about 10:30, and then he would retire to his bedroom where he’d play an hour of solitarie, check his email, read Wikipedia, use www.howstuffworks.com, or order his medication online. For someone 96 years old and playing solitaire and ordering his meds online, I consider that highly impressive.
Most of all, I know he loved his grandchildren. Just as myself, my brother and 2 cousins were able to have him a part of our lives, he was able to see 4 grandchildren grow up. The oldest being myself at 31, and the youngest being my brother at 25.
I consider myself one of the luckiest people in the world for having him in my life for as long as he was.
It’s always hard to imagine someone gone when they are still alive, and when they pass on, it’s even harder to imagine them gone. It’s only been a week, and I’m still struggling with the notion of the empty apartment downstairs. Everything down there is how he left it when he went to bed – it’s like a time capsule.
While I’m not a large believer in God, I do believe (hope) that there is something after this life, something better. Someplace of eternal peace and happiness for the soul, where all the people that have passed on will be reuinted. While I am in no rush to get there, I do think about the date when I will see my grandfather again. And when I do, it’ll be great.
Bye for now, Grandpa. Thank you for being such a wonderful part of my life, and you will be missed by many. I’m glad I was able to say that to you in person many times, not just reflect upon it at the time of your death. Until we meet again, be well, and say hi to Grandma and the rest of the bunch for me. Remember to tell Grandma that ‘yes’, Alex Trebeck is still doing Jeopardy!, and Pat Sayjack & Vanna White are still doing Wheel of Fortune! 🙂
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In Loving Memory of Edward
Born Agust 20th, 1909
Entered into Eternal Rest August 18th, 2006
God grant me the Serenity
to accept the things I cannot change….
Courage to change the things I can and
Wisdom to know the difference.
Amen.
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