Many of you knew my grandfather as Jim, Coach, Sargent or friend… We all simply knew him as, Papa.

Papa is the only person I have ever allowed to call me Kimmie, actually, I smiled each time I heard him say it. If I hadn’t been over to see him in awhile, he would always say, “forget your way over here, Kimmie?”

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Papa was always one of my very best friends.  He was the one who always worried about me, and I always knew, that if something went wrong, Papa would help make it better, and that he would always love me, no matter what. 

There are so many special moments that I remember about Papa, but I’m just going to share a few…

When I was in junior high, I HAD to have a pair of hiking boots, just like all of the other kids had, we called them “waffle stompers” then.  Papa was bound and determined to take me out and get me a pair, even though my mother had refused because they were, “too expensive.”  We drove all over Lincoln looking for them.  We finally found them, and without batting an eye, Papa bought them for me, although he did have to comment that they were the, “ugliest damn things” he had ever seen, and couldn’t believe that any girl would want to wear them.”



Another special memory was after I got married. My husband, Jeff, and I moved to Denver.  I was so homesick while living there, and could only think about getting closer to Lincoln, and to Papa and Nana.  We eventually moved back, and I decided to begin substitute teaching.  Papa was worried sick about me getting lost trying to find the different schools.  One day he called me and insisted that we go out, drive around Lincoln, and map out every elementary school (I think there were close to 30 of them!)  We spent the entire day driving around Lincoln, and then he wrote detailed directions on how to get to EVERY elementary school from my house.  I carried that notebook, in my car, with me for over a year, and still have it today.

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I could go on and on about my best friend. He was meant the world to me, and I thank God each day for blessing me with such a wonderful and loving Papa.