For those who don’t know me, I’m Anna, Joel’s only granddaughter. I’m going to do my best to get through this without crying so you can understand me.

 

I wanted to share with you some of the memories I have of my grandpa that I will always keep close to my heart.

 

When I was young, my grandpa, uncle Bob, and my dad would take me and my cousin’s on a yearly trip in the Winnebago to the Sierras to go fishing. Most memorable are our stays at Silver Lake. Grandpa would get up at the crack of dawn and catch his limit before my cousins and I woke up. At night we would eat our family's famous Jewish tacos or the day's catch, fried up in Dixie fry. Grandpa would always be the last one to finish his meal. He seemed to enjoy every bite of it. Then we would play a game of May-I.

 

When I got older, Grandma and Grandpa got a trailer and boat they left in Big Bear and they would go there for the summers so they could escape the desert heat. At least once every summer we would visit them in the mountains and of course we would go fishing. I can picture grandpa sitting in his spot at the back of boat with his fishing pole in his hand, looking out to the beautiful mountains, listening to his family chatting in the background. He seemed so happy. Then for dinner we would go to our favorite Mexican joint and he would order a very large Cadillac margarita. I will always think of Grandpa when looking out at Big Bear Lake.

 

But most of my memories are of grandpa at home in the desert. Mom and I, and then later, on Corey and Glen made many trips to visit my grandparents there. I have thousands of memories from those visits, but I’m going to only share a few so I don’t take up too much time.

• In the early days, watching grandpa hit a tennis ball around. He made it look so easy.

• Watching movies on the big TV. Grandpa would always fall asleep in his reclining chair.

• Grandpa picking grapefruit for us to bring home. He grew the best grapefruit I’ve ever had.

• And of course going to grandpa’s favorite Mexican place in the desert where he would get huevos rancheros. The waitress new his order. I think he took the longest to eat this meal because he loved it so much.

My most recent special memory is when I told my grandpa he was going to be a great-grandfather. He waited a long time to hear those words. And then, the day he finally got to meet Emma and Gavin for the first time. He called them his little dollies. I will never forget the tears of joy he had.

 

But of all the memories I have, there are two that are the most special.

 

The first is how grandma and grandpa would say goodbye to us when we would leave their house. They would always walk us out and wave goodbye as we drove off, and I can still picture how grandpa would stand at the curb and the look on his face as we waved back. Most times he had a tear in his eyes. They would not go back inside until we were gone. They did that my whole life and I will never forget it.

 

But most off all, I will never forget how much my grandpa loved his family, particularly the way he loved my grandma. I have never seen so much love between two people - completely unconditional.  

 

I learned to fish from my grandpa. I learned to enjoy food from my grandpa. I gained a love for the mountains and outdoors from him. But best of all, I learned to love from my grandpa.

 

I love you grandpa. And like I told you last time I saw you, I’ll make sure Uncle Bob teaches the babies how to fish.

 

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