Padre

On December 29, 2009 our family lost a great man, Padre. We were called at 3:45am to come to St. Joseph's Villa due to a sudden change in health. Steve and I were able to pick Madre up and bring her down with us. I truly believe that Padre was waiting for Madre to get there. He passed within 15 minutes of our arrival.

Padre was Steve's hero. He looked up to him for everything. I am pretty sure this is who Steve learned a lot of his skills and love for things from. Padre was an avid reader, had a thirst for knowledge, supported the Utes Football team, enjoyed living in and visiting Russia, and loved his country and his family.

Padre was in the Navy and loved anything that had to do with the Military and history. In the picture above, Sue (Steve's Mom) took him to a Military exhibit and they actually took him flying in a B-17 bomber. He did not let being stuck in a wheelchair stop him from doing things he liked. Below, he was invited to a World War II dedication in Washington, D.C. with all expenses paid. His brother flew out with him to help him around with his wheelchair. Such a wonderful and dedicated man to the United States of America!

I love these pictures of Steve and Padre. You can just see the love in his eyes for his Grandpa. Padre loved to take the grandkids hiking. He also took them out of school to go to the Golden Spike reenactment. (Figured you learned more seeing it than reading about it!) In the winters, Padre would shovel the snow from the driveway into one big pile. When the grandkids came over he would build igloos with them. Padre was always building something or doing something in his garden. A few years ago, Padre suffered a stroke which left him confined to a wheelchair. Before that, he was still skiing every winter until he was 80 years old. The year he turned 80, Alta Ski Resort gave him a lifetime skier pass, which meant he could ski for free anytime. Unfortunately, he never was able to use it.

Padre met his wife, Louise, in New York City. They were married the following year in The Salt Lake Temple. They have been faithful to the LDS church and following callings. Padre developed an interest in Russia and took classes from the University of Utah to learn about Russia and to speak the language. Later on, they put in papers to do a couples mission and learned they would go to Russia. How exciting for them! They returned to Russia on another mission and twice to visit. On one of the visits, Steve was able to go with them. What a special event for Steve! His grandparents would always take one grandchild at a time on a special trip. What a world away!

These pictures are from my graduation party. It was a Luau themed party and everyone had such a great time. I am so glad they were able to make it to the party. Madre even wanted the Mai Tai's though no one let her! She kept saying how delicious it looked.

I believe the picture of Padre below is at a reenactment of Golden Spike. My brother-in-law, Brian is in the Navy. A lot of the family traveled out to Chicago to go to his graduation from boot camp. Padre wore his old Navy uniform. They look great together. He was very proud of his two grandsons that were in the military (Dan was in the Coast Guard). Padre was born in Driggs, Idaho which is located in Teton County. He entered a contest in his hometown newspaper for the oldest running snowmobile and won! Padre and Madre were wonderful chefs! We would eat dinner there a lot. If we just happened to stop by, there was always something on the stove.

This is the last family photo with every single child and grandchild in it. This is Stephanie and Nich's wedding.

On January 1, 2010 Padre was buried out at Camp Williams Cemetery. The pallbearers were all the grandkids and a nephew.

That morning when we woke up, it was a blizzard outside. It seemed like it would be a snowy cold day but it turned into a clear beautiful cold day. The speakers at the funeral were wonderful. The stories they told of good times and bad times, of tricks played, and of love. Steve spoke of his grandpa and I have to say I think his speech was the best. It was centered around the love that Padre gave his grandchildren and all the fun activities he did with them and for them.

Brian, being in the military, played TAPS on his trumpet for Padre. Steve and Brian did the folding of the flag. It was a very special moment and heartbreaking at the same time. It had to be hard to be the one presenting the American flag to your own grandmother. Brian did a wonderful job of presenting the flag to her.

I love these pictures I took of Madre with her two kids. My favorite is with her son Mike.

After the presenting of the flag, all the pallbearers took their flowers and put them on his casket. By the way, Padre always told his family to put him in a pine box and bury him in the Tetons. Well he got his pine box! It is a beautiful casket.

My favorite flowers were the ones from the grandkids. They were so vibrant with color and life just like Padre. The ones adorned "Honey" were Madre's. Those were her favorite flowers.

Steve is the oldest grandkid and so has known his grandparents the longest. He was extremely close to both of them and has helped them for many years. This picture is very special to me.