Wednesday, October 26, 2016
I consider myself incredibly lucky to have had the chance to not only call Poppy my grandfather, but to also have had so many years to make memories with him. As I look back i smile. No one can truly pass away as long as his loved ones remember him and cherish their time spent with him. Poppy taught me many things, but the biggest thing he taught me is gratitude. I don't think that I have ever met someone as grateful for their life as Poppy was. More of us (myself included) need to learn from him and appreciate every day and moment that we have. I think that very few people can be as at peace with their life as he was. He also taught me humility. I never heard him brag. He would only let his actions speak for him. My favorite line in his memoir, that I think speaks volumes for his humility, was one of the closing lines, "Thank you for putting up with my rambling". While I am sad that one of my role models has passed, I know that he had such a positive effect on so many people's lives. I am so lucky to have been able to spend so much quality time with Poppy from fishing to golf lessons to everyday conversations. Some of my best memories of him were hearing him laugh with us at Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations and hearing him play the piano; whenever we could convince him that in fact, yes, we did want to hear him play. We all miss you so much already Poppy. I can only hope that your soul was able to pass from this Earth as gracefully as it passed into all of our hearts. -Alex Smith
