My dad called me Monday afternoon to let me know that my Grandpa Waltz had died sometime the night/morning before. It was both surprising and not so unexpected since he suffered from liver disease and had been in and out of the hospital many times throughout the last six, seven years or so. Originally the doctors had said that he wouldn't last much longer but then my grandpa proved them wrong time after time. Gradually the disease took hold and he began to deteriorate and weaken. I last saw him about a month ago or so. Although his memory had started to fail him he was able to tell another Jean Louie story from his days working in the maintenance department for the State Forestry. My brother will laugh when he hears that because it was one of the many things that Grandpa would tell over and over again at dinner time.
Grandpa was a very obstinate, opinionated man and it was always best to just let him have his say, but he loved playing the violin. His favorite thing was to play it with a group of musicians at the local bar and also in Death Valley every year. I asked him to play his violin at our wedding rehearsal party which thrilled him to no end. And during the father/daughter and mother/son dance my grandpa cut in and whirled me away from my dad. I laughed because he had us twirling all over that dance floor (keep in mind that I don't know how to dance so he really had to push and pull me along!)
I think that my grandparents have been married nearly 60 years. It's always nice to see when a second marriage lasts that long especially because they were devoted to each other. My grandma took great care of my grandpa and he loved her. He also immensely enjoyed showering her with jewelry every year and was always tickled when Grandma opened the tell-tale little box. I'm glad that they enjoyed each other and hope that she will be strong enough to weather this sadness.
He who has gone, so we but cherish his memory, abides with us, more potent, nay, more present than the living man. ~Antoine de Saint-Exupery
