On the 22nd of July we woke up to a truly devastating phone call, the news that my beloved Grandfather, known affectionately as G, had suddenly passed away. He had been ill for a long time, but we had all expected him to stubbornly fight away for more years to come. Sadly it was not to be.
G was a man who fitted more into his life than most people could possibly dream of. He lived in and travelled to 54 countries, he learnt Arabic, Portugese, conversational Mandarin, and more I probably have no idea about. For years I've used G in many internet arguments, whenever people would say that older people should be forgiven for their prejudices because they were a different generation I would talk about G and how he always strived to be a better person. Liberal and open minded, accepting of everyone, and wanting the world to be a better place for all.
I knew two things almost immediately. That I wanted to be a pallbearer, and that I wanted to speak at G's funeral. Both things terrified me, but I just felt I had to do them. G spent the later years of his life using a wheelchair or electric scooter, and I would often be the one pushing him along as we adventured. If I could help him on his travels in life, I was determined to help him on his final journey too. Delivering a eulogy at a funeral was something I had never even considered, but I felt totally compelled to. I wanted to be the last of the family to speak, because I knew what I wanted to end on was just right. I found a strength I didn't know I had to speak, and was so proud of my Mum and Auntie who also spoke, and my Dad, brother, uncles and husband Stu, who were also pallbearers. We did G proud.
'I want to end on
something he and I read online and thought was beautiful, inspired by
a piece called 'You want a physicist to speak at your funeral'. It's
a piece of writing about how to deal with loss and grief as an
atheist, and find comfort in the world. In the Laws of
Thermodynamics, the first law states that energy cannot be created or
destroyed, instead, it can only be transferred. G was a man of
science, and he loved this. Over his years his energy has transferred
into everyone he's ever met, and everything he's ever been involved
in, a little piece of him is in all of us who loved him. His energy
hasn't gone anywhere, it's simply a part of us all now instead. I
love you G, thank you.'
In G's memory, we have set up a JustGiving page to raise money for Kidney Research UK. G spent the last year of his life on dialysis, and the teams who helped with his kidney disease were incredible people.
It was my absolute privilege to have G as my Grandfather, and I miss him so much. Every time I hear a Willie Nelson song I'll think of him always.
Much love,
Kitty xxx
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