Remembering Grandpa Reed

For the last two years, David and I had the opportunity to live with an older gentleman named Reed. Shortly after moving in, we started calling him "Grandpa Reed" and he truly felt like our grandpa. Our living arrangement was that we had our own space downstairs, however we shared a kitchen with him upstairs. We made dinner and ate it with him almost every night, in true family dinner fashion. It was a positive experience for everyone and we loved our time with him!

We got to know a lot of fun stories about his life. He would have been 97 next month (on my due date, July 13, actually), so he had experienced a lot in his nearly 100 years of life. He attended BYU during the great depression, was an officer in the Navy during WWII where he liberated Japanese camps in China at the end of the war, worked with Eleanor Roosevelt in the National Security Department in D.C., and had a successful career as a hospital administrator over VA hospitals around the nation.

Although he had many accomplishments during his career, he was always first a faithful church member and loved his family more than anything else. He and his wife served in numerous callings in the LDS church, including two full-time missions. The first was to Ghana, where they were the first missionaries ever to serve there. They sacrificed a ton while living there, including living on dirt floors and nearly starving during a drought year in Africa, but were faithful and loved serving the people. Their other mission was in Salt Lake City, where they reorganized the Temple Square Mission to what it is today with sister missionaries. Sometimes he was hard to learn about because he was so humble and hated talking about himself! But that was just one of the many great traits he had.

Read his obituary HERE

He was so sweet and we loved getting to know him. Here are a few of our favorite memories of Grandpa:

• Baking and eating treats with him. He had the biggest sweet tooth! Anytime I was baking, he would make his way toward the kitchen in hopes of getting a treat. Of course, I always had extra for him. One time in particular I was baking and had the live NBC musical of The Sound of Music on in the background. He came in and together we watched the musical and ate cookies. During the commercial breaks he would tell me about the musicals and shows he and his wife had seen together, as well as places they had traveled. It was so simple, but one of my favorite memories with him.
• During Fast and Testimony meetings at church, he would stand up in the aisle rather than go to the front. He would then start out his testimony by belting out "Brothers and Sisters!". The deacon that had the microphone that week would then run over to get him the microphone in time. We loved hearing his testimony of the gospel. 
• One time I had a t-shirt on that said "Victoria's Secret" on the front. I got it for free years ago, and it is extra loose and comfy (especially while being pregnant) so I wear it around the house with sweats, and always thought he wouldn't know what it was. One time grandpa saw it and said "Now, Victoria's Secret..." and I got all nervous trying to figure out what he'd say next. But he then said, "My favorite robe is from there! It actually was my wife's, but I love it so much I now wear it. I've tried to go back in there to get another one, but I can't muster up the courage to go in that store!" He was so cute.
• He LOVED gravy. On anything! Because I made dinner for our family dinners, I would try and incorporate things he liked. He was a meat and potatoes kind of guy, and disliked a lot of vegetables and healthy foods (like spinach, which I learned to sneak into recipes so he wouldn't notice). Many times if we had, say, mashed potatoes, meat, salad and fruit, the gravy would make its way onto everything. Truly, it would cover every part of his plate, even the salad and fruit and then he would grab a spoon so he could spoon up all the leftover gravy off his plate. We eventually just started setting his place with a spoon at every meal with gravy.
• When we moved in, he took us around to all the neighbors to personally introduce us at each house. He was so sweet and it wore him out but he was such a gentleman. He also announced our arrival to the ward each Sunday during our first month there. There was no hiding there! We always felt loved and appreciated by Grandpa. 
• He was the biggest BYU sports fan! It worked out perfectly because David is a huge BYU sports fan. Together, the two of them watched many games, and I would hear them shouting and cheering upstairs. It was funny though because during the commercials they would show old sports highlights and replays, and sometimes grandpa would think they were live! David would end up explaining to him they were clips from the past (like the 80s)...haha it was cute!

Sadly, that was the only picture we ever took of him. He hated being in pictures! But I sure love those guys sporting their BYU gear. 

The above is from Grandpa Reed's funeral. We loved the "Y" on his casket! We are so sad and miss him a ton, but at the same time we are so so happy that he is back with his wife! We know that families are eternal and that he is in a much better place. Grandpa has been one of the biggest blessings in our lives, and we can never repay him for letting us into his life, home, and family. We love you, Grandpa! And we know we will see you again someday!