Dear Abby,

This little letter is not even going to begin to explain how extraordinary and awesome my grandpa and your great-grandpa, Papa, was. I envisioned y’all being able to meet each other and spending time together each week building a relationship and bond like I had with him. It breaks my heart knowing you will never get to meet Papa and I will try my very best for you to know just how special and one-of-a-kind he was. I hope that you can learn how great your great-grandpa was—this is my goal and I pray that you learn through me and others just how lucky we are to have Papa in our family.

I shared Papa with many others because we have a large, but awesome family. However, I feel like Papa and I had a special bond and great relationship. I looked forward to seeing Granny and Papa each week (usually a few times a week). Spending time with Papa really was a highlight of my week, each and every week. I loved him so much and learned so many things from him. When I was young we use to disagree over everything: if he said black I would say blue just to not agree with him. As I got older, Papa could do no wrong in my eyes. I really do think Papa was perfect—he really was! I loved listening to his stories about the old days, his opinions on politics, his weekly sports summary, his hunting stories (even though this is one thing we didn’t agree on—hunting), and honestly I was interested in anything and everything he had to say. He had strong opinions which I liked because he really knew what he wanted and liked. He knew who he was and believed strongly in what he thought was right. He was my role model. Papa was just great—I really do strive to be as good as a person as he was.

In grade school I would spend some time in the afternoons at Granny and Papa’s. I would go grocery shopping with them and Granny and I would put our snacks and food in the basket to buy. Papa would go behind us taking the name brand pizzas and whatever else out of the basket and opting for the off-brand instead. We laughed about this many times later but he really did teach me a valuable lesson on cost savings.

When I didn’t like what Mom and Dad were fixing for dinner I would just call Granny and Papa and tell them I really wanted 7-11 nachos. At the time I didn’t like pig, deer, or fish, which my parents ate a lot of so in my memory they were bring me 7-11 nachos or Dairy Queen all the time. This is truly great grandparents!! They spoiled me rotten!

I loved meeting Papa on Saturday and Sunday mornings at the country store. I would always interrupt the ‘man’ table where all the men were drinking their coffee and I would get/order my breakfast taco. I’d love listening to them talk about cattle, rain, weather, hunting stories, and crazy things that they admitted to doing each week. On occasions I also liked to surprise Papa at his pasture in the morning and ride around with him looking at his cows, feeding his cows, and looking at what the hogs had destroyed now. I was always amazed with his garden too. One year (2010) we had a competition: produce out of our garden compared to produce out of his garden. His garden always did so much better—his green onions got huge, his potatoes grew big, his squash looked healthy. Don’t get me wrong, our garden did well but his produce always seemed to be bigger! Bryan always picked on Papa saying he was cheating in some form or fashion because his crop looked so good and healthy!!

Papa was such a lucky person too! He always won things. Your mommy and daddy do not have any luck so maybe you will be lucky like your great-grandpa. Papa always won at raffles. He was always bringing home something that didn’t cost him a dime such as a television. He won contest, such as deer contest. He was a winner in everything he did. I went to the High Grove annual picnic with Granny and Papa a few times and when I was there he never won (because I bring bad luck). However, the years I didn’t go with them were the years they won things! I stopped going so they could win the cool prizes!! J

Papa always made us laugh because he and Granny would go to Louisianan for two or three nights and the total trip would cost them like $4 or $5 dollars. I use to not believe them so a few times they brought the receipts home for me to look at. They went gambling quite often so got free rooms, free buffets, free everything really. They would stop and eat off the $1 menu or get senior coffee and discounts along the way. They made it into a game to see how little money they could spend on a trip to Louisiana to go gambling. I was always amazed!

Papa always let people hunt at the pasture and kill one deer a year. However, I am not the hunter and am quite opposite. I am an animal lover. He would always joke about me going out and hunting my deer and I would say, “I want no one to be able to kill a deer for one year out at the pasture. I want to save all the deer.” He would just laugh and tell me I am just like his brother, Jerry. We can’t kill a fly.

I did inherit the same money sickness syndrome as Papa. When Papa made big purchases and paid for them in cash he would make himself sick for a couple of days. When I have to buy something unexpected or pricey, I get sick myself for a while because the thought of spending lots of money makes me sick just like it did Papa!! I like to save my money and I think Papa did too!

I loved the fact that Papa and your daddy built a strong relationship too. They both would set each other straight and not let each other get too crazy of ideas. Over the years there relationship grew and grew and they developed a really special relationship too. Papa and your daddy both were hard workers, country men who loved to talk about cow, cattle prices, hay, and fertilizer cost. They both really liked to work—hard labor, dirty work! They also watched the same television shows on the History Channel and others ‘man’ channels. Their favorite show to discuss was always Dirty Jobs. I miss Papa terribly and I know Bryan does too because Papa was like a grandpa to Bryan also!

Granny and Papa had an unbelievably strong marriage. It is a marriage anyone would be jealous of because it was so solid. They each loved each other with all of their hearts and were the love of each other’s lives. Granny did everything for Papa and Papa would do anything for Granny. Their marriage was so sweet and loving and truly a marriage so strong that you rarely do see a bond so strong anymore. Being around Granny and Papa really makes you see what true love is and how it can be ever-lasting. Granny and Papa were a perfect match—their marriage and love for each other was so, so strong and unbelievable!

Papa was such a giving, kind-hearted man who I miss beyond any words can describe. I really thought he was invincible and I would get to share my life with him forever. He was such a fighter and determined I never imagined myself having to live life without having my grandpa to share it with. I love Papa so much and know he is watching over Granny and all of us in everything we do. I’m so glad Papa is my grandpa and your great-grandpa because I couldn’t of asked for a better grandpa. He was so active in my life growing up and I am so glad I got to share so many memories with him. I just hope he knows how much I loved him and just how great I thought he was. Papa is seriously one of the best people I have ever met in my life. In Heaven, I know he will still be a part of my life and keep track of what is going and somehow set me straight when I need to be. Papa will see you grow up and watch over you too from Heaven!

Papa knew you were coming into this world soon. I kept him updated on all the doctor appointments, sonograms, and he got to watch my stomach grow and grow! He even helped with names because Bryan and I didn’t agree on lots of name choices at first. I had the name “Addison” on my list of names I liked and one day we were running through the list I had. He had an Aunt Addy that he mentioned and then he said something about liking the name Abby. Abby started to grow and grow on me and just kind of stuck for us. So Papa helped come up with your name – Abby. Papa suggested in conversation that he liked the name Abby and Daddy and I liked it too. We actually love your name and think it is so cool that your great-grandpa played a role in naming you without even probably realizing it.

Papa was so special and created such an awesome family, which you are a part of. He will never be forgotten and I have so many memories that I hope to pass along to you. I’m so grateful for the time I got to spend with Papa and all the memories we made. I have so much love for Papa and will never forget him. He was the absolute best!! This little letter doesn’t even begin to describe all my memories with Papa and no words can describe Papa because he was so very special. He truly was. However, I wanted to write a letter to help describe to you how awesome your great-grandpa, Papa, was. He played a role in who we all our today and my heart is completely filled with love for Papa!

Papa at the House Visiting - We Loved When Granny and Papa Came to Visit