My Grandpa

A week ago today my sweet and wonderful Grandpa passed away. This past weekend I had the opportunity to go to Utah to celebrate my Grandpa with my mom, siblings, aunts, uncles and all of my cousins. It was a very special time where we all laughed and cried as we remembered the amazing man that my Grandpa was. A few common threads of conversation were remembering his wonderful sense of humor, how he made every one of us feel so special and important, his incredible testimony of the gospel that was seen most clearly through the way he lived his life, his kindness, his intelligence, and his compassion. 

My Grandpa was the father of 7 girls...no boys! And not only that, but he was a huge outdoors man. He loved to hike and camp and fish. Not having any boys certainly didn't slow him down from having adventures or discourage him from making them all he wanted them to be. He spread his love for the outdoors to his grandchildren and shared many adventures with our generation as well. 

My Grandpa was a very accomplished man. He earned his masters and PhD and started the gerontology program at the University of Utah. He was and is a highly respected man in his field of work. I don't know much or at least don't remember much of his professional years since most of my memories are post retirement and he certainly never bragged about his success. But at his funeral I heard a few things hi-lighting his academic career and he was undoubtably accomplished. 

My Grandpa was such a great example of never dwelling on problems but rather finding solutions. I would go to him with questions or concerns and walk away with a new perspective on the situation because he would open my eyes to seeing what lied ahead rather then letting me dwell on the trouble. 

My Grandpa was a witness for me at my wedding which will always be so special to me. He was a very important man in my life. He made me feel special and important and accomplished and it just always felt so good to be around him. I am so blessed to have had Melvin White as my Grandpa and my friend. He was a remarkable man who will be remembered and celebrated for a long time!

Oh and my sweet and wonderful Grandma. It was so great to be with her this weekend and see how much they loved and cared for each other. She is a remarkable woman herself and I love her so much. I am definitely going to take advantage of the time we still have to be with her on this earth. 

I am grateful for the knowledge that I have that I will see and talk with and spend time with my Grandpa again. I feel extra blessed to be having a baby weeks after he left us here on earth knowing that he is sharing some last minute wisdom with my little girl and that she will be blessed to have known her Great Grandpa (even if she doesn't remember once she is here!)

So...I love my Grandpa!