Grandpa Heusser

This past weekend I went with my family to Grand Junction, CO for my Grandfather's funeral. He passed away on Sunday 17. October in his sleep. The funeral was beautiful, the tributes to him were so good. It made me remember all that I had tucked away since his memory and self has been fading. It's been a while since I've had time with my adventurous, intelligent, life-loving grandfather, as Alzheimer's has caused some separation making it hard for me to connect. He was amazing. Seriously. Educator, singer, taxidermist (I kid you not), scholar, outdoorsman, bird-lover, family man, the list goes on...
The picture above is from Grand Junction's main street which has a variety of art fixtures along the sidewalks. This piece has always reminded me of my grandparents. When we would come to visit we would often go to main street and walk up and down checking out all of the little shops and pieces of art and this one always stuck out. My parents always emphasized bike-riding when we were younger, urging us to hop on our bikes to go to the movies, or pick up something from the store, or to go to our dance classes - always with a story of how they used to ride their bikes e v e r y w h e r e when they were younger. This was passed down from my lovely grandparents (especially my grandfather whose thought of an enjoyable excursion was riding bikes from Grand Junction to Salt Lake City-aaahhh!). I used to curse their names as I hopped onto my turquoise bike and pedaled off to various activities. But now I see that it was a valuable part of my childhood and has done a lot in shaping my thoughts and attitudes and goals in life. And they did that in more ways than just this one. I am glad for the heritage from which I come, I love my family and our ideals and standards. I am glad for the weighty value of education, nature, music, art, dance, etc. that is so prevalent in my family. My greatest asset is my family. Really.

For an eloquent tribute written by my sweet older sister go here. Beauty.