This past Monday, Allen's Grandpa Bill Craig passed away. He had been battling stage 4 Cancer and it had progressed farther that the doctors were aware. He died very peacefully surrounded by family in his home. On Sunday, Allen had the opportunity to spend several hours with his Grandpa helping to take care of him and to set up his house so it was more comfortable. These moments have become very precious.
My memories of Grandpa Bill start before my memories with Allen. When I first went to college at CEU, my grandparents told me about the house next door to them and that it was an split level apartment for college students. They told me the owner was Bill Craig and how to contact him. I was sure this couldn't get any better, not having to live in the dorm and being able to live next to THE BEST cook in the country. I contacted Bill and they had an opening for the next year. I went over to Bill and Maureen's house to sign the contract and pay my rent. The most striking feature of their house was the fuchsia carpet and the LONGEST couch I had ever seen. They were very gracious and I was excited to finally have a place to live. Bill was always over at the apartment. He had a garden in the back that he tended like a kind dotting father. Every morning about 6:30 or 7:00 a.m. we would hear his small silver truck putt-putt up the alley in between the houses. I never had to rely on an alarm clock, but his truck.
I loved the conversations I had with him. He was truly interested in the classes I was taking and my job. He would ask me about my assignments and tell me to make sure I was getting my studying done and not partying too much. I remember helping him in his garden and him teaching me how to take care of tomatoes, corn, carrots. How to tend the soil and irrigate properly. I felt that he really cared about me. Towards the end of my first year of college, Bill started talking about his grandsons, Tige and Allen, who would be coming to school next year and moving into the apartment. I got nervous because I was worried I would have to find a new place to live, but one afternoon, when I asked about the coming year,he assured me that I would be taken care of. I felt truly felt loved. I became fast friends with his grandson Tige, as he came for the summer quarter to start classes. Once his grandson Allen came home, we became friends and that friendship grew.
There are many memories that I will hold on to of Grandpa, several are a little too close to my heart to express publically, but I share what I will never forget on my wedding day. He gave me a great big hug, a kiss on the cheek, and took my face in his rough weathered hands and told me, "I knew one day you would be my granddaughter". I always felt like I was part of the family, his family, with Grandpa. I never felt like an in-law and I was ever treated that way, I was one of the family, not an appendage, but one of his kids. What an amazing legacy he has left. I will forever be grateful that I was able know this amazing man.
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