Growing up, papa was the neighborhood grandpa. He watched out for all of us kids like we were his own, and protected us just the same. Even after we were grown and could take care of ourselves he would always watch over us, and now he's watching over all of us forever.
I'm glad I had such a strong, loving role model growing up and I cherish every memory I have of him.
I love seeing all these old pictures. Papa was such a handsome man, and Nana was so gorgeous. I love seeing how much in love with they were as kids, because I could still see it 60 years later (even when they bickered lol). My Papa was a strong man in my life that I not only looked up to, but strived to make sure he was always proud of me.
The things I remember most are playing in the yard as kids - he would give us rides in the tractor, and take us on walks, and was always sitting next to a bonfire watching all of us kids run around... or helping us tape paper airplanes to bottle rockets to try to make them fly :)
He always had a joke (even if sometimes my ears were too young to hear them lol) and even if he wasn't the most affectionate guy in the world he always made sure his family knew he loved them.
