Farewell to a Great Man

This past week has been a bit of a whirlwind in the Early household. I got a phone call on Monday that my Grandpa had had a seizure and was not doing well. Andy and I took off Tuesday in the hopes of getting to go back to say goodbye, but he passed away early Tuesday morning before we got the chance. Though he has been sick for about four years, the end came rather quickly. I know that he is at peace, and much happier than he was living in the nursing home. My Grandpa was one that never wanted to get old, he was a person that was always on the go and did not want to slow down.
As I stood there during the visitation, I heard countless colorful stories from friends, family, students of his, and teachers that had worked for him. He was the Superintendent for North Shelby for nineteen years and he touched many lives including mine. Going somewhere with my Grandpa has always been an adventure because you never new what he was going to do or say. Am and I talked about the many times he would just show up at school to say hello. I had a field trip to Thousand Hills in the fifth grade. My class showed up at the park and there was my Grandpa picking up cans with his shirt off. As the teacher tried to steer us away from this strange man, I had to tell her that it was okay, it was only my Grandpa. He loved recycling cans and would stop on the side of the road just to pick up a can.
He also took us on many adventures growing up. When you got in the car with him, you never new where you would end up. It could be to Dairy Queen, a grocery store for a good deal, historical landmark, or you might just get kicked off a ferris wheel at Old Settlers for being to loud and obnoxious:) Vacations often took detours to see something historical. He loved history and teaching it to us.
Our nights were spent playing restaurant where he would set up tv trays in the living room and serve us our dinner. We had little bells that we would ring and he would be at our service. After dinner, it was Uno of course and we finished the evening with milk shakes. Yes we were spoiled!