In 2013 my grandfather was in a tractor rollover. He was in his 80's and retired, but he wasn't the type of person to stand still. He was the first important person in my life to pass away.
Grandpa was a shrewd businessman. He ran a successful logging business despite severe arthritis that fused his spine in his 30s. When I was 17 he co-signed the loan for my first car. When the salesman refused to give me a free extended warranty and spare tire, grandpa grabbed me by the wrist and dragged me out of the salesman's office announcing loudly,"We'll get a better deal somewhere else". I was in shock since I really wanted the car. The salesman came rushing after us screaming,"ok FINE!!! you can have whatever you want!!!". Years later I blew a tire and the spare didn't fit. The salesman personally came out to replace my tire for free, grumbling the entire time about how Grandpa had got the better of him years ago.
When I decided to attend art college I asked grandpa for a loan. I secretly hoped for 0% interest, but wasn't going to push it. When I asked him for the loan he looked at me shrewdly then said,"I can't have you saddled with all that debt, so I'll double what you're asking for, and only ask for half of it back.". Within a year of graduating I'd saved up enough money to pay him back. When I came by with the cash he said, with a twinkle in his eye,"Just give it to your brother. I hear he's going to college too.".
After the accident, he was hospitalized and I made him this get-well-card out of a stamp block.
A few days later I received a call that he wasn't going to make it. I booked a last-minute flight to Portland and made it to the hospital just before he passed away. He held my hand and told me he was proud of me. He died shortly afterward. His last conscious words were,"Love God and love each other. That's all that matters.". It was beautiful. But, because death isn't like a movie, a few hours later, he jerked out of his induced sleep and said,"I'm cold. How can that be? I don't have a body." Those were his actual final words, and they will stick with me forever. After he passed, the family decided my work should decorate his tombstone. I've never been more honored and humbled. I can only hope that everyone has as strong a male figure in their life as my grandfather, Carrol "Sam" Reid.
