My Gramps 

You are one of the only men that has taught me what true love looks like, unconditional love, love that would make you do anything for your person, love that holds memories, love that any girl dreams of having. The kind of man that treats you like your royalty, kind of love.

You are the Algebra and Trig teacher that has impacted many students lives and even mine, hearing you recite the pythagorean therum at age 100. A squared plus B squared equals C squared, you would say. The pythagorean therum! Past students came to your funeral saying how much you changed their lives. Past students wrote memoirs of specific events and memories of how you impacted their life, some you even saved. 

You are the man that would put money in the mailbox for me and my sister to find, calling it the “magical mailbox.” Us wondering who put the money in there and then later in life wondering where he got all this money. 

You always had Wertherss Original Caramel Hard Candy in the side dish on the way to the kitchen, asking us if we ever wanted any and always would suck on the candy with that twinkle in your eye and smirk on your face. 

You always wore those velvet shirts with tan pants, always presentable, never messy. The shirts that were so soft like a babys bottom, the shirts that had a distinct smell of your after shave and years of love. 

You always would ask if anyone wanted coffee, even when I was 7 and thought it would stunt my growth. Though, I never turned down the offer. 

You always were selfless, did everything for everyone else before yourself. Even till the last moments. 

Once Noni (great grandma) died you would always keep your phone on her pillow with a picture of her on the screen. You would make her a cup of coffee every morning knowing she was in heaven but did it anyway because thats the love you had for her. 

You are the man that every time we went to the cemetery you wanted to see all your relatives and gave a special moment to all of them. When we came upon Noni’s and Auntie Toni’s grave you would say a little prayer and talk with them, trying to hide your tears every time. 

You were the man that had a million if not more stories of different memories or chapters of your life. Every time I would see you, you had a different story, if not a different story  I would learn something different from the same story. 

You were stubborn, but in a good way. You never wanted to show weakness and always were so independent. So independent that you would do your own laundry, go up and down a steep, narrow set of stairs until your early 90’s. 

You were the man that would put a smile on anyones face, even people you didnt know.

You would stick your tongue out and scare the kids when you took your dentures out, making us think that you lost all your teeth. 

You were the man that would always get a Key Lime Pie or some other sort of pie every time we went to the breakfast diner.

You were the man that would give me a handful of quarters and tell me to get something from the coin machines. 

You were a bundle of joy, always would laugh and have a good time. 

You were the man that had a banana company and lived long enough to tell the tails of the adventures that came with it. 

You were the man that had two canes, I dont know if it was purposeful or not. But I would always shove one under my arm and pretend like it was a crutch. 

You were the man that would give italian blessing. When I was young I didnt understand why you had to slap me across the face. Though as a grew older it became my favorite part. 

You were the man that would have miscellaneous things in your pockets or around your room. Which I always thought was quite cute, and I would imagine you had a different story or memory attached to each thing. 

You were the man that would say I love you and give a kiss when we would meet and when we would leave. 

You were the man that would walk us to the door and watch as we would leave, waving until we turn the corner. To which then sometimes we would go around the block again to see if you made it inside alright. 

You were and are a lot of things, more than I can even remember, all these things I and many others will cherish for a long time. For the rest of our lives. We will cherish and spread the love you had, onto our kids and to others around us.

You werre impactful 

One of a kind

Unique 

You are my role model

Someone I aspire to be

Someone that I cant wait to meet again someday

Someone that I will hold onto for the rest of my life. 

I love you more <3