A Love Story

This is a love story. And like all good love stories, it begins with a song:

 ♫ “Unforgettable. That’s what you are.
Unforgettable, though near or far…” ♫

To put it simply, our grandfather was unforgettable. And very fittingly, that was one of Grandpa & Grandma’s favorite songs.

As we mourn the loss of Grandpa, we’re happy in knowing that he’s now reunited with Grandma, the love of his life for more than sixty-two years! Saturdays were always their date nights, so it’s perfectly fitting that he left us on a Saturday afternoon, just in time to join her for one final and eternal date night. Grandpa & Grandma were the best dancers, and we can’t help but smile to think that they’re dancing together again now!

They were an extraordinary couple — joyful and loving. Grandpa, with those sparkling blue eyes that danced with laughter, loved to tell stories and jokes, and Grandma of course loved to listen and to laugh. So you see, they were the perfect pair.

They taught us all the importance of family and friends, and most importantly, they showed us by their actions that what you do every day matters more than what you do once in a while. They lived each day in a way that brought joy to each other and to others. That doesn’t mean there weren’t hard times. There were plenty along their 62-year journey together—highs and lows, good and bad… Weddings, births, health problems, loss of loved ones, and in the final years, the pain and difficulty of Grandma’s battle with Alzheimer’s. But through it all, they proved to us that love, laughter, and faith can sustain through even the darkest of times.

“Now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.” (1 Cor. 13:13)

Because Grandpa loved to tell stories, we thought it would be fitting today to tell the final chapter of one of the greatest stories of his life: his love for Grandma.

After Grandma passed away last fall, Grandpa began carrying around in his pocket a small silver heart with a tear-shaped hole cut out of the middle. Some of you may have noticed it tucked into his hands today. It is called a “Reunion Heart,” and he treasured it — as a token of love and remembrance, a way to carry her with him every day, and a reminder of the promise that Grandpa looked forward to of being reunited with her someday.

This is the poem that accompanied Grandpa’s reunion heart…

“Since Heaven has become your home
I sometimes feel I’m so alone;
and though we now are far apart
you hold a big piece of my heart.

I never knew how much I’d grieve
when it was time for you to leave,
or just how much my heart would ache
from that one fragment you would take.

 God lets this tender hole remain
reminding me we’ll meet again,
and one day all the pain will cease
when He restores this missing piece.

 He’ll turn to joy my every tear
with thoughts of you I hold so dear,
and they’ll become my special way
to treasure our Reunion Day.”

As we say our goodbyes to Grandpa today, we take comfort from the words of this poem, not only in celebration of his reunion with Grandma, but also for the promise that we too will be joyously reunited with them someday – in another time and another place.