My Papaw

1914-2009

Last week, my Papaw (pronounced pap-paw) went to be with his Maker. He was 95 years old and lived a good long life. He surprised me though because I just knew he would make it to Willard Scott's 100yr old birthday announcement on the Today show. Papaw is much happier now and is rejoicing with the angels in heaven. And, knowing Papaw, he's telling some motorcycle jokes to them as well. He was known for his jokes and it was no surprise he was the class clown type. Papaw was full of knowledge. He knew a little bit about everything. And the man could fix ANYTHING! My dad told me when Papaw was 12yrs old, he found an old clock in the trash. It didn't work but he tinkered with it and got it to work. That clock stayed on his mantel for many many many years. Some things I remember most about Papaw: He loved to work puzzles, he loved trains, he loved to tease my grandmother, he was the slowest eater that ever lived - his parents made him chew his food way too much before swallowing, he was a hard worker... I could go on and on. One thing someone said at the service that stuck out to me was "You can't demand respect, it must be earned....Walter Pessel earned it". Papaw certainly had my respect!

One good thing about funerals is the family you see. I haven't seen all of my cousins at the same time in years! All but two of us grew up on the same farm. It was fun to see a whole new generation (all 11 of our kids) reliving our time on the farm playing. It was a great time of celebrating Papaw's life!