It's been a tough couple of weeks for our family. Jon lost his grandfather to illness and traveled back to Boston for the funeral. Unfortunately, Calvin and and I could not travel with him to pay our respects. Fortunately, my parents were able to visit us in Stockholm and provide some much needed family support.
Jon and his family wrote a beautiful eulogy for his grandfather and I have included only a snippet to show what an amazing man he was and what a great family we are blesse to have. It is in moments like these that we wish we could be closer to our family in times of need. We love our lives in Sweden but truly appreciate the love and support that only family can provide.
"One of the
first lessons Grandpa taught us – through actions rather than words –was to be
protective of those you are responsible for. I remember
when I was nine or ten years old, there was a water quality issue in
Pawtucket. Unable to use the tap,
everyone in town was told to pickup their ration of water at the firehouse –
but for Grandpa that was unacceptable.
And not just unacceptable for his family, but also for all of his
tenants in his apartment buildings. One
day I jumped in his beaten up ford truck with him –the bed full of gallon jugs
of fresh water – and we hand delivered two gallons to every tenant that he
had. We covered a lot of stairs that
day, but saved just enough time to get some chocolate cake at Chellos."
