When the phone rang at 7:45 Sunday morning, I knew who it was before I looked at caller ID. My dad was calling to tell me that his father had passed away.
My grandpa will be buried in Port Arthur on Wednesday, on what would have been his 99th birthday. He lived a full, long life.
At a young age, he had to go to work to help support his family since his dad abandoned them. And that was in the Great Depression. He later went on to play football at St. Edwards University in Austin. He married my grandma and together they raised 3 boys (one of which was my dad, who gave them enough trouble to equal 5 boys) and put all three of them through catholic school. Grandpa worked in shipyards, and he also worked in Texaco's machine shop for many years. In his 40s, he dug (with my uncle's help) a large pool in their backyard and then taught swimming lessons in his spare time (it was called the Fanette Swim School).
Later, he would be known for storing his chewing gum behind his ear while eating a meal. He'd also lick his plate clean if my grandma didn't get his plate away from his fast enough. He'd drink alfalfa tea every afternoon (it was horrible smelling stuff).
My love for re-purposing someone else's trash into a treasure for our house was born in my summertime visits in Port Arthur. My grandpa, grandma and I would go on bike rides, and sometimes physically get in dumpsters to rescue 'treasures' that could be fixed up. That's one of my favorite memories.
I'll miss my grandpa.
3 comments:
I remember the first time I met your grandpa. We were at his home for Thanksgiving. He was in his late 80's and we stood in his back yard as he explained the offense they ran at St. Edwards when they played against UT. WOW!
I remember him saying in the middle of lunch, "Ask that Baptist boy to pass the mashed potatos!" How was teasing me because, at the time, I was the lone Protestant at the table. It was really funny.
Being born in 1908, I think of all the things he saw in his lifetime: World War 1 and 2, the Great Depression, the proliferation of cars, phones, airplanes, televisions, computers, cell phones, the internet and email. He saw so much change.
He was a good man. I will miss him, too.
I am so sorry for your loss. He sounded like an amazing man.
So sorry to hear about your loss. I'll be praying for you and your family.
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