Grandpa Pack

Roland Samuel Pack
October 3, 1913 – February 20, 2009

Mike's grandpa recently passed away. What a wonderful day to be reunited with his sweetheart after having been separated for over 11 years. Our girls have been blessed to know 3 great-grandparents and have a sweet relationship with each of them. When we told them he had passed away, they asked if we were sad. We explained to them that he had lived a great life and was now able to be with Grandma Pack and Heavenly Father and Jesus again. What a wonderful reunion that must have been!

We tried to make a point of visiting Grandpa and making sure we got pictures with him. Our second to last visit in Emmett was my favorite. Grandpa was very witty and made us all laugh. He also took the girls for a spin on his walker - as you can see in the pictures, he is pushing them. They loved it. I love how the pictures capture their admiration for him.

One time Grandpa came to stay with us for a weekend when we lived in Orem. One night, he had spent the evening with a cousin and we were going to be at Jenna's until late so we asked that when Grandpa got back and went to bed that he not lock the deadbolt because we didn't have a key to it. He must have misunderstood, so sure enough - after midnight when we got home we were locked out of our house. It was springtime and I was pregnant with Whitney. Grandpa didn't sleep with his hearing aides in, and we didn't want to wake him so we didn't knock very loud. We weighed our options and chose to sleep in the car, at first laying the seat down and sleeping in the trunk and later moving to the front seats.

Grandpa had been worried that we weren't home yet so he kept checking at the window to see if we were home. But seeing our car but not us, he would go back to bed. About 3 or 4 in the morning, I woke up to Grandpa in his pajamas with un-combed hair knocking on the car window. It gave me quite a scare. He felt so bad that he had locked us out. We all laughed! Up until about a year ago, everytime we saw Grandpa - he would remind us of how he had locked us out and we would all laugh again.

(Mike's Comments) It doesn't happen very often, but Katrina has turned over the keyboard and our blog to me, so I'm going to take full advantage of it! :) I am so grateful the the life and example of Grandad. Even as the sun was setting on his mortal life, he made it a point to send birthday cards, with his own handwriting (with a little help from Aunt Kathleen). How treasured were these little notes of love and appreciation. One of my favorite things about Grandad, and what I think had the greatest influence on me, is his eternal and unwaivering love for his companion, Grandma Pack. He would always speak with such tenderness in his mentions of her, how he missed her, and how grateful he was for the eternal nature of their relationship. He also never missed an opportunity to share his testimony of the restored gospel and his love for the Savior. That made an significant impression on my young (and not so young) mind. Looking at images of him with my children, his amazing daughter (who became my mom), and with me, I am flooded with countless memories of reunions, visits to John Day & Marsing, birthdays, baptisms, and all the things that bring families together. And that, ultimately, is what I and so many others have learned from Grandad - that we have the promise of forever with those we love following a life well lived. Such was the life of my Grandad. I love you - give Grandma & Dad a squeeze for us!