My Grandpa

Two weeks ago tomorrow, (already two weeks ago!), one of the best men left this world for the next. (Granted, his sweetheart has been waiting for him on the other side of the veil for over eight years, so I suppose I really can't blame him. But almost.)


I wanted to write about my Grandpa's passing so long ago. You see, Grandpa died pretty suddenly, and my work was great about bereavement leave, so I just flew out as soon as I could after he died. Tyler finished finals and joined me in Utah/Idaho shortly after. After the funeral and family activities, we flew straight to New York for our one-year anniversary celebrations. Both of us subdued our laptop addictions by not bringing them with us for this 10-day whirlwind, and are now just getting to writing this post.



So here's to Grandpa.

Here he is just before taking my brother Cory, sister Claire, and me up for a ride in his airplane.
Grandpa flew for the Stars and Stripes in WWII and has loved this talent ever since.

Newell August Nelson, aka Grandpa, has been a guiding light and constant source of love for me. He is an absolute inspiration to me. A child of the depression, WWII veteran, raised-farmer turned college graduate, and successful accountant, knew about overcoming, about making something better out of the present, and being happy and thankful no matter what. Grandpa excelled in many things professionally; was a leader in service organizations like the Lions Club and the Elks Club; a leader in the church as Bishop and other callings; kept a beautiful home, yard and garden and more.

(I'm sad now - more than ever - that this picture didn't turn out great on my wedding day.)
Grandpa was always there - for every event. Every significant turn in my life.

His best talent - where he most shined and excelled above the rest of us - is his ability to love everyone. Grandpa loved nearly everyone he ever met and he knew how to show that love so that people felt it. And I'm sure that everyone who ever met Grandpa loved him back. Several of my friends affectionately call him Grandpa even though they had wonderful grandparents of their own.

Grandpa seemed to know everyone. He made friends with your friends, with ticket-takers, and even telemarketers. Much to his credit, and very much true to him, the EMT that rode with him to the hospital (and was the last one in this life to speak to him) was personally acquainted with Grandpa. Since his death, we have heard nothing but expressions of gratitude for his love and compassion from those who knew him. This has been a great lesson to me.

Here he is making friends with Tyler's grandpa, Russell Mackay, at our wedding.
They were quite the buds by the end of the weekend. :)

I suppose the Lord helped me prepare a little for this loss through my personal reaction to the death of those three policemen here in Pittsburgh. Their deaths were much more tragic and untimely, but it was a lesson to me just the same in how to positively respond to death. My conclusion to that event was that those who die are not lost: they are not lost to God, not lost to their families, and not lost to the members of their community. We can learn from and follow their examples, and be the better for it. We can remember their love. And we can know that they live on through the triumph of Christ over death, and that through His gospel, we can live in eternity with our families in joy.

I want to hold these lessons in my heart in the wake of Grandpa's death. I want to be more like he was in his best attribute: charity. I want to talk with the store clerk, say hello to an acquaintance, and welcome others with open arms.

These ideas were already floating around inside when I arrived at the airport a week ago Wednesday. I decided to try to be like Grandpa. As a result I met three wonderful women. One who smiled warmly, told of a son who lives in Oregon, and she supports because he's unemployed. Another was returning home after her 52 year-old son-in-law's funeral in Pittsburgh. He left a 10 year-old son, 12 year-old daughter, wife, and 92-year-0ld father wondering why his heart wasn't the one to stop. The last woman was a factory working widow headed out for her annual Girls Weekend - a new tradition since the death of her husband at age 56. Talk about putting my loss into perspective! Being like Grandpa is a pretty good deal. He is so amazing.

There is so much I can write, but most of it I will save for my journal. The last thing I wanted to share was from Stake Conference last night. As one of the speakers spoke, I thought about my grandpa, and then I felt the Spirit witness to me so strongly of my grandpa's love for me. I felt it so deep. Not that I ever doubted it - Grandpa made it so clear. So what it really confirmed was Grandpa's life. That he's still alive! I knew it all along, but felt it so strong again. His spirit lives on and he still loves all of us and is concerned about our welfare.


Why do we sometimes say that someone has 'passed away'? They have most certainly only 'passed on.'