In memory of Grandpa Grossen

Here's a little excerpt from my journal today:
"A few hours ago I received a phone call from my dad telling me that my grandpa was in the last day of his life. Then I received another phone call...he's gone. Although it was expected, especially with his fast decline in the past couple of weeks, it is still hard. I will miss him and all his quarkiness. I last saw him when I was out in Utah in March, just a few months ago. He looked good, he was his good ol' self. We ate at one of his typical restaurants. Rachel sat between him and Linda and she had a great time! I'm glad I was able to see him then and I knew it could have quite possibly been the last time. It was sad to hear how much he suffered with chemotherapy to his final moments. I'm happy to think of the grand reunion of my grandmother, Mary Ada, after 15 years. It's wonderful to have the perspective and knowledge of the gospel. I have fun memories of Snicklefritzgleek stories, going through his safe of jewelry, his tickles that really hurt, his drawers and cupboards of candy, the way he wiggled his fingers by his mouth talking of something delicious, his love of books, lladro, garbage trinkets that "we could have", a good deal. I'll always remember his laugh, how we all used to give him such a hard time about everything. I remember how he helped me study for the AP history exam. I still failed. Sorry Grandpa, I wish I had the same love of history as you. One thing I loved most about him was how proud he was of me. I remember him at my Nutcracker performances, how choked up he got on my wedding day. He got teary eyed again when I had Rachel, saying how precious she was and how precious little children are. I'm so proud of him! For finding happiness again after my grandma died, dealing with the struggles of his second wife and the divorce, and for finding another wonderful woman, and most importantly, becoming worthy again to go through the temple. I'll be so happy to see him again. I'm here in Belgium for another week and a half and the funeral is on Wednesday. I am really really sad to miss it. I love my grandpa and am grateful for the life he lived, and that I could be a part of it."

I wish I could be with my family right now during this time, so let this be a hug to all of you-dad, brother, sisters, uncles, aunts, cousins, as you think of all the fun memories of Grandpa and how much we'll miss him.

This is a picture of us with him last October