Grandpa

At about 12:20 pm I got a call from my mom.  She told me that Grandpa had died around 12:00 pm there in the hospital.  It was only a 2 min conversation........ I had been expecting it, but its still hard to find words when you hear the news.  I was with a friend at the time and I told him what happened.  He tried to relay his condolences but I said that actually it was a good thing. He had been suffering for a long time had gone through several extreme surgeries including having plates and screws put into is back and having a kidney removed.  He had been told several times that he probably wouldn't make it through this surgery or that one.  Even towards the end when the doctors had no idea what was happening and said he wouldn't live through the weekend he found a way to get better and to leave the doctors scratching their heads.  We all new why he kept getting better.  It's because Grandpa was a tough old country boy who was as stubborn as a mule.  There is a line from the movie Cowboys that always reminded me of my Grandad: "I am thirty years older than you are, I had my back broke once, my hip twice, and even on my worst day I could still beat you." This is really quite funny because many people, including myself, think that he looked an awful lot like John Wayne. I have often said that when I die I don't want people to mourn my passing but instead remember and celebrate the good times.  I hope to do that now for him.

Herman Shoemake was born on Oct 6 1925 in Mississippi.  The eldest of three brothers he was often left to take care of the family farm.  He would tell stories of when as a young boy he would carry 3 100lb bags of fertilizer across a plowed field.  This might not seem like such a feat of strength to some..... however, one should know that he only weighed about 140lb and he carried them all at once.  He would also tell us stories of how we would terrorize the local pastors.  He would get to laughing so hard that tears would start rolling down his cheeks.  Even with being 140 lbs he was 6'2.  The family was poor and to put it into perspective when he went off to basic training where most people lose weight he gained 40 lbs because of all the food. 

   

When WWII broke out he enlisted in the Navy and served in the Pacific theater.  This was a part of grandpa that he didn't share until much later in life.  He would tell of which ships he served on and all the trouble that he and his shipmates would get into.  When I was on my mission, the zone would get together and they would ask me to tell stories about my Grandpa to help pass the time.   He came back from the war and got his education and got married.   My grandma was 9 years older than him and they had 3 children.  They eventually got divorced and he would then remarry and become a quality inspector.  This job took him all over the world, after which he would move back to the family farm.   We always looked forward to when grandpa would come to visit.  It was a time of stories and of great barbecue, something he became famous for among my friends.  (They always seemed to make their visits coincide with dinner time while he was in town.)  Later during the summer we would get to go stay with Grandpa on the farm.  After helping with chores me and my brother would go down to the pond and fish or hunt for snakes.  Grandpa was always quick with a joke and could usually strike up a conversation with just about anyone and make them feel comfortable.  He had a very teasing sense of humor and a quick wit.  Not much got passed him if there was a joke to be made. (Now Tricia should know where I got that trait from) As he got older his health began to fail.  He couldn't do many of the things he used to.  He fought until the very end.  However, I am sure he would not want to be remembered as the man in a hospital bed but as a man who loved his family, worked hard, served his country and loved to laugh and make others laugh.

Grandpa I love you and miss you.  

Tristan 

7/17/2008