My Grandpa was an amazing man. I was one of those weird little kids who would rather listen to my grandpa tell stories for hours and hours than go play. He almost made it to his 96th birthday. He was a man who could tell you every detail of his life including the names of people he only met almost a century ago. He always laughed about "The Great Depression" because right in the middle of it his father bought a brand new Model T, he said he never experienced the Depression like the rest of the country did. He was called to serve in the California Mission, he was excited to go there because the Rose Bowl was going to be held while he was there and he thought he would get to go to it. But soon he learned what a mission was all about. He loved his mission and even named my father after one of his mission companions. He signed up to serve in the Navy in WWII. He wanted to be a morse code guy but said "I'm no dummy, you hear! I'm no dummy. But I failed that test to be a morse code guy" he would then always start to cry a little and then he would say "but failing that test became the best thing that could have happened to me. Those morse code guys ended up in trenches." My grandfather worked with the sailors that would come off the ships and help them find the church. He would find the Mormons and helped run the branch of the church for the servicemen. The war was basically an extension of his mission. He served 4 missions with my grandmother. I decided to serve a mission largely because I grew up hearing my grandfather's testimony of missionary work. I will miss my grandpa's laugh and his smile and his immaculate mowed lawn. He has made me a better person.
The ward I grew up in has some amazing people in it. People drove 45 minutes to come to my grandpa's viewing just to show support for my parents. Robert Edwards was my stake president growing up and has always been one of the most humble, sincere people I will ever know. He told my uncles how my parents "are irreplaceable kind of people". He said "I was the Stake President who called Loyal to be the bishop. I knew that he would be a great Bishop because the people respected him. He can be loud, but when he opens his mouth something good comes out. Most people when they say what they think all the time good things don't come out but when he opens his mouth and says exactly what he is thinking good things come. He is a hard worker who loves the Lord."
These two men I come from have taught me who my Savior is and how to find joy in the simple things in life. They both would always say "if something is worth doing, then it's worth doing right."
Right before he burned a hole in his thumb
I've never seen a baby so happy to get some real food!
When dad growls at you, just laugh at him!
