LEGACY

Grandma Jolley

It has been nearly a month since I last posted anything on this blog.  I wanted to make sure I had given everyone that reads this amazing piece of literature an opportunity to send me fan mail, care packages or if nothing else, cries to stop posting pictures of my mustache and/or links to songs that revolve around Poo Ponds.  Oddly enough, I have not received a single letter or care package, and the only cries came from my wife and children...and let's be honest, I've become immune to their complaints of my efforts to be humorous.  So I decided to take a few minutes and write a few thoughts that have been bouncing around my cranium.

Grandpa Jolley

Two weeks ago my dear, sweet Grandma Jolley passed away.  She was 89 years old, and still just as vibrant and fun as could be.  Last year I posted a story of one of my favorite memories of her.  If you missed it, I highly recommend reading it, as I still think I am one of the funniest people I know.  The long and short of that story is that I ended up in a KMART free-balling for at least a good half-hour while my Grandma found me some new Underroos (seriously mother...how did you let a 5 year old pack his own suitcase for a week-long visit with his grandparents?!).  I cherrish those memories.  I have vivid memories of making the drive to Burley, Idaho and staying with Frank and Shirley.  My parents would sit playing Rook and drinking Tab or Diet Pepsi while all seven of the Shepherd kids quietly watched.  My Grandma reminded us often that "Children are to be seen and not heard!"  We would play croquet in the backyard, walk down to the park or to the A&W Rootbeer and simply enjoy being kids.  Grandma always had a freezer downstairs full of ice cream sandwiches and fudge cycles.  You had to be brave enough to venture into the pantry to get one, but it was always worth it.  I remember sitting with my Grandpa watching Dale Murphy and the Braves.  I remember my Grandpa becoming sick with cancer.



Shirley Jolley and a fraction of her posterity

Frank Jolley was a giant of a man!  He was in the Army Air Force and fought in the war as a radio-gunner.  He would later go on to deliver mail in Burley.  When I was 14, he died after a long battle with skin and bone cancer.  I still remember the school nurse calling me out of class so that we could make an emergency trip to Burley.  We drove all night and ultimately made it in time to say goodbye.  I remember standing beside his bed in his den and having my own opportunity to say goodbye.  The giant that I had remembered had given way to the cancer that had eaten away at his body.  I remember telling him that I had just finished my Eagle requirements.  Grandpa died just a few days later...and Grandma was left alone.  After 27 years, they were finally reunited.

Grandma and Grandpa Jolley

I could fill pages with memories of my Grandparents.  They would mean very little to most people, but are treasures to me.  Rather than putting those memories to paper, I thought I would focus on the legacy that they have left behind.  I was unable to attend the funeral.  For some reason Southwest Airlines did not have a quick conncection between Afghanistan and Idaho.  It was a tough thing for me to deal with, as I was the only grandchild that was not in attendance.  However, I was able to participate long enough via Facetime to witness what this woman has meant to her posterity.  Shirley will be remembered more for what she taught than for what she did...and that is saying a lot considering how much she did!  She not only taught her children the gospel, she LIVED the gospel.  She expressed her faith through service.  She showed her gratitude in the same way.  She loved the Lord and she loved her family.  I am grateful for her influence in my life, but more importantly in my own mother's life.  So much of who we become is based on what we have learned within the walls of our own homes.  I could not ask for a better scenario than the one I grew up in.  Loving parents that loved each other, loved their kids, and loved God.  I owe so much to both of my Grandparents for molding my Mom into the person she is today.

Wings

I don't have many pictures of my Grandparents...far fewer than I should.  I do have one treasure that my Grandma gave me on the day I earned my pilot wings.  Hanging on our wall at home is a picture of my graduation certificate with two sets of wings...mine and my Grandpa's.  It is a treasure.  Not so much for what it is as much as what it represents.  To me it represents both of my Grandparents...the one that wore those wings and the one that parted with them.  I love and miss them both, but have no doubt I will see them again one day.  I only hope they can get a glimps of my mustache as they smile down upon me now!  Even they could use the laugh!