Last Sunday I got a phone call while we were getting ready for church...It was my dad telling me that my grandfather had died. My mom's dad had died about 10 minutes earlier from complication from Alzheimer's. Shane called our pastor and a few close friends to let them know. I cried and then sat and remembered what a special man he was. I'd like to share a few with you.
My Pawpaw was a church usher at their church. I remember he would always leave before us and when we got to the church he was standing there with a bulletin for us and we got Certs out of his pocket. He was very dedicated to this service.
When my family lived in New York we got several shipments a month from Granny and Pawpaw...they were boxes filled with food staples/supplies (I remember ketchup). What I didn't realize when I was little was that was God's way of providing for our family. It helped keep my mom's grocery budget down and food on the table. My grandfather was a food broker and so he was able to get these items for us...it was awesome.
I also remember watching the newest granddaughter, Sarah-Kate, through the baby window at the hospital with him and him tearing up. He loved us all so much...all 10 of us.
I remember him singing Christmas carols with us very loudly. He also was Santa and passed out the Christmas presents every year but always asked for a helper.
He kept a box cutter with him at all times due to the work that he did...we joked after the funeral that we should have buried him with one. :-)
One of the best memories I have is that he and Granny were at my house when my dad's mom died. She also died on a Sunday morning and he was there to grieve with us. It was such a special, special time to have them there.
He loved my Granny so much. For years she never had to pump gas b/c he made sure her car was always full of gas. It was so sweet.
The week has actually been a good week. We left for Clinton on Tuesday for the visitation and then the funeral on Wednesday. It was good to cry and laugh with family and friends that remembered him. My uncle started out the service on Wednesday morning and talked about how Bill Turner was a simple man and how he was so joyful b/c of his simple faith in Christ. He did a great job. Their pastor, Dr. Belser, then spoke to us from 1 Peter and how we have hope even in death. We walked into the service singing "To God be the Glory" and then a lady sang "Great is Thy Faithfulness" and then closed the service with "The Lord's Prayer". We watched the casket get loaded into the hearse and then headed to the cemetery. My dad did the small service there and again reiterated the hope we have in death and the need for salvation. A funny thing is my grandfather is buried under a pine tree. He spent a lot of his spare time at their home picking up pine cones and sticker balls off his property from the pine trees that he had...so now, they will cover his grave throughout the year. Not that he is there to know this but it was comical to us.
I know this is a scattered post but I wanted to be able to remember it in the future. Thank you for your prayers this week, they have definitely carried us through.
Looking forward to the day where "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” Revelation 21:4
