Grandpa's wisdom and guidance is the foundation for everything I believe and hold true to in my adult life.  His voice and reason is still what I hear when I am deep thinking or when I am troubled. When I ask my conscience for guidance my first thoughts are of how he would have felt in the situation or what he would have done to aid me in my decision making. 

The clearest early memory I have of my grandpa is from when i was about 4 or 5 years old.  Grandpa is still at work,  Grandma is sitting on the front porch at their house. I am pushing a bubble mower down the side walk.  The carpool van pulled up  to drop grandpa off from work.    I remember him walking up to me to see what I was doing. I showed him my bubble mower, and I can only assume I explained to him in my 4 or 5 year old way the awesomeness that was the bubble mower.   

What I remember most about the moment is the way grandpa engaged me in conversation even though I was so little.  He was sincerely interested in what I had to show him.  From my early child hood some of my fondest memories are of him and I making the loop around the block behind grandma's house.  We would take a walk most evenings before dinner time, while we waited for mom and dad to get off work.  I would walk along and every 5 feet or so find a shiny rock of interested.  I would pick up said rocks and we would present them to him (sometimes by the handful) like a prized trophy fish.  Sometimes we made it all the way around the block with pockets of rocks to give grandma when we got back.  Other times it would be sticks and on the later of the evenings as it got dark, we would take a jar with us and collect lightning bugs.

Grandpa always had a sense of humor about him that was often infectious to those around him. Sometimes it was even at the expense of injury to himself.  I remember once when Daniel and I were with him at a miniature golf course.  It had just gotten dark,  and the flourescent lights were on.  We were all playing our second or third shot and he got so excited that Dan's shot was about to go in that he followed the ball over to the hole and did not see the large rebar post hanging low in front of him.     

In my adolescence grandpa's character was what nurtured my perception of the world.  He influence my athletic abilities as well as my critical thinking abilities.  There were many occasions where he would come with me to the track to help me practice my running or we would go to the driving range and practice our golf swing together.  Most of the times we would end up spending evenings picking up an ice cream treat afterwards.  

I remember grandpa ALWAYS being at our sports games.  Whether it was Dan's football games, or Cody's Tee-ball or my track meets.

Grandpa was also one of the lucky persons with which I received most of my drivers education hours. Most of the summers around that time were spent driving his green Saturn station wagon around Staunton or Edwardsville to drive some golf balls or out to the Raymond 9 hole course or out to the Sugar Creek Golf Course. 

I often remember some of the most defining moments for my character were in the conversations we held on the way to a golf lesson or to a track meet.  Grandpa was someone I could open up to about anything I wanted to talk about.    We would often take walks or drives, he was there to listen to me and engage my imagination.  He and I bonded over many passionate discussions on anything from weather to sports, sometimes we would discuss religion, or science or any other number of random topics that came across the radio or across our thoughts.
 

 His voice and reason has been the candle light through my past and present.  His passion for life and genuine sincerity with those around him is what brings out the best in those he touched.  This the essence of what his legacy is to me and it is my hope that I can pass his way of life on to my children and my children's children.