Saying Goodbye to Grandpa

So the reason that I am again backed up on blog posts and havn't posted one in quite some time is that I have been in San Diego once again for my grandpa's funeral.  He passed away on January 18th.  He had been in the hospital due to pnumonia for probably a week and my mom had been giving me updates.  When I saw that she was calling me in the middle of the day I knew what she was going to say.  At least I knew the gist.  She told me that she had arrived at her parents house to find her mom crying and when she asked her what was wrong she said, "My husband passed away."  My mom then called the hospital and her dad had passed away.  I tried not to but I cried on the phone.  I left the next Thursday so I could attend the funeral the next Friday.  The service was beautiful and it made me feel so much more at peace and less sad.  Knowing that he had lived a good life and loved his family.  One thing I noticed in watching the slide show that my mom had put together is that I knew that he always wanted to take pictures of things he liked, thought was cool, or was very proud of.  The smile he had with those things was not near as joyous as the pictures he took with his family.  He loved us so much and was so proud to call us grandchildren, daughters, sons, great grand daughter.  It warmed my heart.  Here is the picture on his obituary.

Here is his obituary:

Biography of Earl Granlow

Birth/Family
Earl Granlow was born on February 12, 1929 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His name was originally going to be Lars, but since he was born on Abraham Lincoln's birthday, the nurses wanted him to be named Abraham Lincoln. His mother was not too fond of the name, but used the middle name of Lincoln and the first name of Earl because he was born "early," at the suggestion of his aunts. Earl was the middle of three children born to Oscar and Norma Granlow, who were restaurant owners. He grew up with his older sister, Dorothy, and his younger brother, Burton. Earl was a very protective brother to his siblings. He was known for his great strength and willingness to stick up for what was important to him.

Childhood
When Earl and his brother and sister first started going to school, their mother would walk with them. Later that practice was "discontinued," as Earl said. He attended Whittier Elementary School, Jefferson Junior High School, and Central High School in Minneapolis. After his family moved to Missouri he spent most of his time at this parents' restaurant. Earl's favorite subject was math. In his algebra class the students sat in order of their grade on the last test; Earl was always in the number one seat. One time the teacher put a complicated math problem on the board and challenged the students to solve it. The teacher herself had not worked out the problem, but Earl surprised her by coming up with the correct answer. Earl also briefly played the violin in school. He used to joke about how he could make it through a performance by not putting any rosin on his bow. To make extra money Earl delivered papers worked as at a bowling alley setting bins before the invention of automated equipment. During the summer Earl worked on his grandparents' farm. He has many fond memories of his mother's family, the Otterstads, who immigrated from Norway to Iowa in the late 1800s.

Military
When Earl was 18 years old his dad got him a job at a nearby clothing store. He wasn't thrilled about selling clothing, so he went around the corner to an army recruiting station and signed up for the military. After being trained as an air trooper, he drove supply trucks during the rest of his service, which ended in 1950.

Western Electric
After Earl was out of the military, he applied for a job with Western Electric, a division of AT&T, as a telephone equipment installer. He quickly impressed his boss with his desire and ability to work hard. When he started dating his boss' daughter, Genie Erickson, her father quickly approved of the relationship. Genie worked as a switchboard operator for Western Electric during World War II, and witnessed the switchboard light up when it was announced that the war was over. Earl and Genie still own several original telephone operator chairs and other memorabilia.

San Diego/ Marriage
After a few years of working in the phone business, Earl transferred his job at Western Electric to San Diego. Genie soon followed and they flew to Yuma, Arizona on December 18, 1955 to get married. They purchased a new home in what was then the outskirts of San Diego, Serra Mesa.

Children
Earl and Genie had three children, Ruth, Sarah, and Robert, who were respectively called Ruthie, Sally, and Bobbie. Earl worked very hard to provide for his family, encouraged them to do well in school, and be involved in extracurricular activities such as Boy and Girl Scouts. Earl served both as a Cub Master and Scout Master. Earl was also a member of the Scottish Rite, and his wife a member of the Eastern Star. Earl spent most of his time working on ways to improve his home. He planted fruit trees and gardens, built a swing set, rocking horse, and playhouse. He even increased the size of his back yard by filling in the canyon behind his house with dirt that he had delivered in his drive way. The whole family took part in loading, carting, and dumping dirt. Earl taught his children how to get up early and work hard to get a job completed. Later, with the assistance of his oldest daughter, Ruth, he drew up plans for a two-story addition to his house and led his family to help with the construction. Many a day was spent measuring, sawing, nailing, and painting. He continued to work on making improvements to his home for the rest of his life. He was always excited to tell us about the current project that he was working on.

Retirement
Earl was fortunate to take advantage of an early retirement package at Western Electric and retired at 55. He has spent his retirement continuing to work on his home, helping his children on their home projects, and being a source of support and advice for his family. One of his favorite pastimes was to bring his wife to Home Town Buffet where he loved to eat navy bean soup and salmon and visit with his friends. He also enjoyed hosting holiday events at his home in a room he designed as the "Party Room."

Grandchildren
Earl had six grand children, Cindy, Claudia, and Charlie Connors, and James, Elizabeth, and Lydia Maas. He also was thrilled to have one great-grandchild, Kaylee Sproul who is one year old.

I know that he is smiling down at us and that he is excited and waiting for us to do his temple work when the time comes.  We will miss you.

If you want to see more pictures of his life the link to his obituary is HERE.  PS- Amy Jones I can't help but be a little reminded of Nick when I see some of my grandpa's younger days.   Just a few of the pictures look like him.  It is crazy.