Goodbye Grampie

Ed's father passed away late Saturday night - just one year and three days after Ed's mom passed away. Even though it was expected and peaceful, it's still difficult. We've lost three parents in the course of one year.

Clyde was a great guy - always smiling and he had this little silent laugh that cracked us up. So good with the grandkids. Over the past year since Ed's mom passed away, we've spent a lot of time with Clyde. He had dinner with us at least once a week and we saw several other times each week since he lived less than a mile from us. Ed moved his parents closer to us in November of 2006 and it's so good that he did. That allowed us to spent a lot of time with Clyde after his wife died so he wouldn't feel so alone. Any time I had my grandchildren over for the evening or the weekend, I was sure to have Clyde over, too. They would watch cartoons with him, play games with him, and Eamon would occassionally correct Clyde's manners. One evening we were at the dinner table and I gave Clyde some more water. Eamon looked over at him very seriously and said, "Say thank you or she'll take it away." Another time Eamon and Vika asked Clyde to get on the floor and play with them. He explained that if he got down there, he might not be able to get back up. They looked at him quizzically, but then decided to move their game to the table so he could play with them.

He and Ed's mom were married 54 years at the time of her death. When they got married, he was 19 and she was 26 and quite the hottie. I'm quite sure he thought he had died and gone to heaven. This past year without her was very lonely for him and during his hospitalization, he would sometimes call to her, talk with her, or ask where she was. And by the end he had lost any initiative to get better. I think he was just done.

So, goodbye Clyde - Grampie. We'll miss you.