Most people grow up knowing both sets of grandparents. They have fun listening to their stories about how they grew up in the old days and had to walk a mile to school in the snow, uphill both ways. They partake of their wisdom and enjoy being spoiled by them. I, on the other hand, had only one set of grandparents. My father's parents passed away long before I was ever born so I never knew them. My mom's parents, Elden and Sarah Hadfield, were the only grandparents I ever had. They lived in Salt Lake City, UT, a four hour drive from my home town of Twin Falls, ID. We would go there for nearly every family vacation I can remember. I didn't really mind because their house was a blast to visit. It was huge, with a flat roof overlooking the city. There was a city park literally right next door with rocks to climb and lizards to be found. It was "the big city" to me and I loved visiting my grandma and grandpa there.As do all grandparents, mine decided to get old on me although it seemed they never would. My grandpa owned his own drapery business until he was 86 years old. He ran it like a well oiled machine. My grandma was just as spry. She would do yard work and clean the house with ease.
After my grandpa retired I remember him looking for employment elsewhere. He got his CDL (commercial drivers license) because he was going to "drive truck". That didn't really work out, so he applied for a security guard position. Mmm...that didn't really pan out either so another thought he had was to break horses (apparently he did that a lot when he was young, so he thought he could do it again). Needless to say, the man was a stallion. He refused to allow himself to grow old. Unfortunately he couldn't stop father time from doing his thing. Dementia finally got hold of him and he started going downhill from there.
My grandma took care of him. She was very independent and able to take on the load for both of them. She had her ups and downs where her health was concerned, but it was obvious to us grandkids that grandpa was going to pass away before grandma.
But life is a mystery sometimes. On May 3, 2010 my grandma passed away. It was very unexpected and a little difficult to swallow at first. Julie, Truman and I went up to Utah for the funeral. This is a picture taken just after the funeral ceremony.
Shortly thereafter my cousin Liz Johnson Hall had a daughter and named her Sarah (my grandma's maiden name was Hall too). So Liz's parents, my aunt Susan and uncle Gary, invited grandpa to come to their house to spend some time with them and see the new baby. One of Liz's other daughters approached grandpa and said: "Did you know mommy is bringing Sarah over today?"My grandpa misunderstood, because later that night when he went to bed and aunt Susan and uncle Gary were helping him into bed he looked up at them and asked: "Sarah's not coming is she?" After my aunt and uncle told them that she wasn't and that she was gone, they said he let out a groan, rolled over and went to sleep. They said the next day he refused to get out of bed and noticed over the next week that he was quickly approaching his final days.
Grandpa died on August 11, 2010, just a little over three months after grandma. They were my grandparents. They were all I had in that category of family. I loved them dearly. They were amazing people, wonderful examples of how to love and put family first. I will miss them dearly.
