The most difficult blogs to write are those where one desires to give an event or person the memorial they deserve. I will do my best to summarize Dennis, but the words are not flowing easily. It is not easy to describe a man who was not only a great father to Jim, but also a man who treated me like a daughter. The girls also adored their PawPaw. Dennis was a man who had accepted God's path for his life so completely without ever questioning Him. Even though we were surprised about Dennis' passing on the morning of December 19, I know that Dennis was okay with the timing. One of my favorite excerpts from the Bible is Revelation 21. My favorite phrase from the beginning portion of the chapter is in verse 5: "Then He who sat on the throne said, 'Behold, I make all things new.'" It's a verse that has always brought comfort to me, and Jim and I praise God that Dennis is enjoying his place in heaven! Instead of being sad, we are trying to rejoice. In true Dennis fashion, I will tell a funny story of one of our interactions.
Last January on my birthday, my phone rang. I saw that it was Dennis, and I immediately knew that it was my traditional "Happy Birthday" phone call that Jim's family performs. We all get together and serenade the birthday boy/girl with Happy Birthday in the most comical way we can sing it. Last year when I answered the phone, I only heard Dennis. He was howling/barking "Happy Birthday" like a dog. I started giggling and wondered if he would be able to make it through the entire song. On the final note, he let out a long huge howl! He then told me that Chewy, his beloved dog, wanted to say Happy Birthday to me. I thought it was hysterically funny, and I saw a glimpse of the young man that was still within Dennis.
Another constant memory that I have is the girls playing with Dennis' feet/shoes. When the girls were just starting to stand, they would always go to PawPaw's chair and use his shoes as leverage. Once they were more steady they would play with the shoelaces. We will have these memories to tell the girls once they get older about how much they loved playing with their PawPaw and sitting on his lap.
I asked Jim if he wanted to contribute a memory for me to write about, but he said he couldn't think of just one. He did, however, request that I title this blog "Dennis the Menace". We miss him, but I think he would rather us celebrate him.
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| Dennis and Jim |
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| Katie holding onto PawPaw's Shoe last March |
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| Mother's Day 2012 |
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| PawPaw and Katie |
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| PawPaw and Jubilee |
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I didn't realize how much the girls played with his shoes. That's a good memory. He was always afraid of the "germs" that hang on little kids, but whenever he was around any of them, he didn't hold back. I think that proves that his heart was stronger than his scientific knowledge and that the former is much more valuable than the later!! I hope the littlest kids will be will able to remember him. I hope there is enough video to compliment the stories. Thank you for posting this.
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