To My Greatgrand Dad

I feel lucky because I was grandad’s first great-grandchild and I have an immense pride to be able to call myself his great granddaughter.

I have always looked up to Grandad and he was very inspirational to me. His life was an example that taught me that with hard work and determination you can do anything and go anywhere. It was this drive in his life that created the many successes that we have all heard about today.

I have heard my dad say that Grandad taught him that you can’t expect someone to do something that you yourself are not willing to do, which is another way of saying that you lead by example and that no job is ever too small. It was this humility that helped to touch so many lives. Grandad always knew how to connect with and make an impression on every person that he met.

Family was the most important thing to Grandad but as I became older I learned that he wasn’t just important to our family. He meant so much to so many people and to our country as a whole. Seeing the events that have unfolded over the last few days have opened my eyes even more to the major role he played in shaping Cayman to what it is today.

Above all of Grandad’s successes, what stands out to me the most is how much of a good and amazing person he was. This has played a major role in shaping who I am today. I can only hope that seeing his daily devotion will continue to help me aspire to be as loving, dedicated and gentle as he was and that putting these all together will guide me to my own successes in life.

I will try every day to make him proud. For the first 11 years of my life I had the privilege of living right next door to Grannie and Grandad. I would spend countless hours driving my little pink power wheel jeep back and forth from my house to theirs, whether it was to say hi, to hangout and play for a while or to have breakfast with them.

I was always coming up with new reasons as to why I had to quickly drive over again and it didn’t matter if it was my 1st, 2nd or 3rd visit of the day I was always greeted with hugs and kisses.

Even though we lost Grandad he is still very much alive in my memories and in all of our memories.

Some of my fondest memories will always be how excited and eager Grandad was to play with my brother and I when we were younger. Grandad loved to play with us and to take us to the beach to see the cave by his house. I am so thankful for the special bond that I had with him.

Something that brings me so much happiness is seeing the way that Grannie’s face lights up when she talks about Grandad because I can see the immeasurable amount of love that they had for each other. Grandad lived an incredible life and proudly shared his many stories about his fascinating life at sea and just the sound of his gentle voice telling these stories brought me such comfort.

He truly was a ray of light in this world and even though he is gone, that light lives on in each one of us.

In closing I’d like to share a poem by David Harkins that really resonates with me and my healing with facing Grandad’s passing:

You can shed tears that he is gone

Or you can smile because he has lived

You can close your eyes and pray that he will come back

Or you can open your eyes and see all that he has left

Your heart can be empty because you can’t see him

Or you can be full of the love that he shared

You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday

Or you can cherish his memory and let it live on

You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back

Or you can do what he would want: smile, open your eyes, love and go on.

I love you with all my heart Grandad and I miss you very much.

Love,
Allie