He gave me a nickname that (sometimes unfortunately) has stuck. Most of my family & many family friends still refer to me as..."Bootie". My grandpa used to sing, "Bootie go to night, night" and the nickname stuck. You can see why I say unfortunately, although I do love being the grandchild singled out. :)
He loved to travel and some of my greatest childhood memories involve vacations with my grandparents. We always traveled to Florida, via my grandparents' van, playing games on the long drives. My first encounter with the ocean was with him, as well as my first trip to Disney World and several other amusement parks. When I get a copy, I'll post a poem he wrote about his many travels.
He was an giver, encourager and "filler". My aunt read a children's book at his funeral about filling people's buckets. My grandpa did that in all aspects of his life. He loved his family & friends unconditionally and lifted people up just with his presence.
He was a joke-teller. Every time we saw him, he'd have a new joke. He loved to make people laugh!
He was always genuinely excited to hear from me or see me when we visited. After I had children, he always wanted to see them, wanted to know how they were, wanted to see us more.
He was an incredible Christian man and I am thankful I had him as an example in my life. He lived an incredibly full life, to a grand 87 years old. Though I'm still sad that he's gone (and even caught myself about to ask my Dad just last night on the phone how Grandpa was doing), I know he is with His Savior now as well as being reconciled with my grandma, mom and many other relatives & friends.
