Grandpa Pierce

This last weekend was a tough one for us as Mandy found out that her Grandpa Pierce passed away on Memorial Day, May 26th. Grandpa Pierce was an amazing man who served so many people. He served in the Korean War, volunteered for 20 years with Habitat for Humanity in the Bronx, NY, Boston, Baltimore and Kansas City.

After talking with Grandma it was evident that God had taken Grandpa the way that he wanted. Although sudden, in the end I think it was the best for him. As Mandy put it in her letter to be read at the funeral, "Grandpa's body just couldn't keep up with the things he wanted to do."

One thing that Grandpa loved were hats. Every time I saw him, he was wearing a hat. He had quite the collection from a hat that was "Half a Bubble Off" with a level on the bill, to a "Chief Executive Officer: In charge of diddly squat" So the family sat down for a Grandpa hat picture. I think he is in heaven laughing at us.

Although death is a hard thing for anyone to accept and know how to deal with, it is something that provides a chance for family and friends to come together and share the good memories. I spent a lot of my time in Kansas City wrestling with the thought of death and what that would look like in my life when God decides to take my grandparents, parents and God forbid, me. What will happen at my funeral? What will people say? Who will show up? I contemplated this quite a bit and tried to remember that I only have one shot at this life. There are no do overs.