Hello Station Wagon family, It's with a heavy heart that I write this post. I awoke to some sad news today. My Grandpa passed away this morning at about 4 AM He was about two months away from his 97th birthday and a month shy of celebrating his 72nd wedding anniversary. Grandpa was a special guy. He loved God, his family and his country. Though he often claimed he wasn't "cut out for the service" he bravely served as a paratrooper in the European theater of WWII in the 101st, 82nd and 17th Airborne. He and Grandma raised a family of 10 kids on a farm in Kennewick. That's where they were living when he purchased the Plymouth wagon I now own as well as the Ford pickup truck & camping trailer that I also currently own. http://www.stationwagonforums.com/forums/threads/my-grandfathers-pick-up.29246/ I know I have shared about both of these vehicles on here before, so I thought it would be fitting to share that he had passed. He led a wonderful life and was an inspiration. He will be truly missed.
My condolences as well, he was born the same year as my Father, I lost him 3 years ago. Also a Station wagon Guy and one of the reasons I like them.
So sad to hear about your loss. What a great long life he had. Serving his country, raising a great family and leaving a legacy for his future generations to continue. Could any of us ask for more from our own lives, you must be so proud of him. Thank you for sharing your loss with us. While your family are carrying on where he left off, I'm sure he will always be with you in spirit.
Words, however kind, can’t mend your heartache, but those who care for you share your grief and wish you comfort and peace of mind. May his memory live on through you and through your heart. He sounded like a great man. From our wagon family here at the forum to yours, you have our deepest condolences.
I'm sorry for your loss, but you can sure tell he lived an amazing life, and it's wonderful that you have pieces of him to live on with you as reminders of him. All the best to you and your family!
Thank you everyone. He did indeed lead a fantastic life. He will be greatly missed, but we are all glad that he is now at peace and that we had the joy of knowing him.
He was a great man and has passed both material and love down thru your family. Good luck to you and your family keeping grandpa's memories alive and on the road.
Thank you everyone, I appreciate it. It's been a busy week, so I haven't been on in a while. We laid Grandpa to rest yesterday. It was a very wonderful funeral. It was full of emotion, which I was happy for. Grandpa touched the lives of many people and we were able to celebrate that in many ways. He was a chief of the volunteer fire department in Kennewick for 30 years. Our local department wanted to honor him so they assembled an honor guard and arrived at the funeral in a restored vintage 1940's IH fire engine. This was all arranged prior to the service of course, but unbeknownst to me. I was a Pallbearer, and was inquiring before the service where we needed to be, and when. That was when I learned that Grandpa was going to be transported to the cemetery in the antique fire engine, followed by the newest engine in the fleet. I wasn't expecting that. I thought, "Man, that is so awesome". When I found out a good friend of mine would be driving the engine, it made it even more special. It was hard to keep my emotions under control. I drove the Fury in honor of Grandpa. Somewhere in the back of my mind I always knew that when the day came, I would be driving the Fury to his funeral. My Dad told the funeral director that it was Grandpa's old car. He asked him to make certain it got in the procession to the cemetery right behind the car carrying Grandma. All of the family at one point or another told me how much they enjoyed and appreciated seeing the car. The local VFW was there with their honor guard for the graveside service. There was a 21 gun salute and the playing of Taps. My brother is in the National Guard, so he was able to present the flag that covered the casket to to my Grandma. I don't know how he kept his composure. At the conclusion of the graveside service the fire department honor guard did a "final call" for Grandpa over the radio. It was something I was not expecting at all, and one that brought tears to my eyes. I was honored by the presence of so many people who took the time to pay tribute and respect to my Grandfather. It was a long day, full of emotion, but it was a very good day. We celebrated Grandpa's life. I thought it was a fitting tribute. I'm sure Grandpa would agree.
I have to admit, your last post made me tear up. All my grandparents were gone by the mid-'80s, and one was truly in the grip of dementia when she passed in the late '70s, so I only really got to know my dad's dad, Grandpa Len, a whip-smart man with a very dry humor, and a demeanor that brook no BS. And he was a librarian! Dad told me that during the Great Depression, Grandpa worked on a farm in Cheney, where he could hoist a 3-wire hay bale up above his head, then throw it upward into the barn loft! He also was librarian at my junior high school back in the mid-to-late '20s, taught English, latin and word derivation, as well as coached the school's football team. I got to take him through the school 50-odd years later, meet a few of my teachers, etc. But that's all I really got; my dad's mom was a bit of a recluse, so we only saw her once when I was in high school, and my mom's dad, who fought alongside his brothers in the Great War (WW I), died of emphysema when I was six, in '71. Mom told me about how, after the war, he put himself through correspondence courses to be a CPA. She also told me how Grandpa Fred helped Oscar Garrett get his start in the trucking business. That's about all I know.