Grandpa Landon

                    

I haven’t posted in awhile on this blog, but before I update too much on what we’ve been up to, I wanted to do a little tribute to my Grandpa Landon.  He passed away March 28th, and we were able to go out to his funeral Easter weekend.  It was especially poignant to be there for the Easter holiday and have the meaning of Easter sink in in a different way than it has before.  Although I will miss him very much, I know that it was time for my grandpa to go, and I’m so grateful all of our family could be there together to remember him and his amazing life.

The funeral was an amazing and sacred experience.  There were so many people there who loved my grandpa, and I think I came away from it realizing how lucky I am to be his granddaughter and to have had the chance to know him for so much of my life.  He was a great example of faith, service, and hard work. 

I always loved going to Grandma and Grandpa’s house.  Grandpa loved to tell stories and to joke and laugh with us.  He was always working hard too, even after he retired from farming.  Most mornings when we’d go visit him in the summer, I’d come upstairs for breakfast, and Grandpa would be already outside picking raspberries, which I then ate bowl after bowl of.  When my grandparents would come and visit us, I can remember waking up in the morning and hearing him snoring as he slept out in the living room, and being so excited that he was there. 

As I grew older and attended BYU, Grandma and Grandpa Landon’s house became a home away from home for us, and Becky and I, and later Jacob, made many trips up there for Thanksgiving, to go to the cabin, and just to feel like we were going somewhere close to home.  Grandpa would always take us out to the deep freezer and load us up with all kinds of meat, and Grandma would send us back with homemade bread and freezer jam (made from all those delicious raspberries!).  Grandpa would always slip some money in our pockets as we left.  They often came to visit us in Provo too, taking us to dinner and bringing us similar goodies and treats. 

I remember when Shane and I bought our house in Ogden, my grandparents came to visit for the day while Shane and I worked on painting (with my mom and Becky’s help!).  They brought goodies to eat, and while we were painting, I found Grandpa kneeling on the hard wood floor (we had pulled all the carpets up) and pulling out nails from the floor.  That is how he was.  Always at work.  Always serving.

My favorite thing about my Grandpa and Grandma Landon is their love for the temple, and how they instilled that love in us.  They always let us know how much they loved to go there and to serve as temple workers.  That is why we named our first son Landon – to remember them and the legacy they have left for us.