In loving memory...

In memory of my Grandpa, the following is a letter I’ve written to honor him. It’s not to say my final good-byes. It’s to say thank you and to remember all of the good times.

To my Grandpa, October 5, 2009

First of all, I would like to say thank you. Thank you for giving me the privilege of knowing you, of spending time with you and making memories with you. It has been a true honor looking up to you throughout my life and calling you my Grandpa. I see so many good qualities in myself that I have gotten from you and I know that as I’m writing this letter, you’re looking down with that big grin on your face.

I remember all of those hunting excursions we went on. Like the one where we went swan hunting on Open Grounds. We were sitting in the ditch as the swans flew overhead; when you shot, your feet were stuck in the mud and it through you back onto the embankment. At first you got mad, blamed it on the sun in your eyes and your gosh darn glasses, but then you saw the humor in it and started laughing. I’ll never forget the look on your face. On all of our hunts you always had to have plenty of food with you. It seemed like you brought enough food to feed an army. And of course don’t forget about your sweet tooth. You always had to have some sort of cookies.

You were always such big jokester. Always playing some sort of practical joke on someone and always trying to get that last laugh. This, of course, is why I looked forward to each Christmas so much. It wasn’t always all about what Santa was going to bring that year, which that did have its benefits, but it was the anticipation of how my present from you was going to be wrapped. Like that one year I had to unwrap a big box which included a smaller box, which I had to unwrap and open only to find it containing another smaller box. And so this process proceeded until I finally arrived at the prize, another box, but this one had money in it. Or another year when I had to pull a string oh so carefully from a long tube covered with warning signs, saying it was going to explode. None the less, it didn’t explode but the top did pop off and attached to the end of the string was a card.

As you can see Grandpa, the memories we share could fill a book. I’ve only mentioned a selected few. So with this said, I make this promise to you. I promise to not morn your passing with tears and sadness, but to celebrate your life with smiles and laughter. I will always remember the good times we shared and remember you for who you were, my Grandfather. I will forever cherish our memories and will retell them with a smile on my face and my head held high. For this is not a good-bye Grandpa, but a see you next time, “certainly” (you know what it means)!

With much love,

Caroline

In loving memory of

Kenneth Bernard Corwin

January 8, 1929 – October 1, 2009