I had to make an unexpected visit back to NH on Friday of last week.  My Grampa Palmer passed away after a short illness.  Grampa just recently turned 100 on July 26th.

It’s amazing to me what my grandfather got to see in his life.  From 1914 to 2014 he has seen some of the most amazing technological advancements in human history and some of humankinds largest atrocities too.  Think about it, let it sink in for a second, 100 years.  In that time the automobile exploded on the scene, the airplane became mass transportation, computers, internet, landing on the moon, cell phones,  open heart surgery,  video chatting, television, and all the things that we take for granted.  Some less than glorious times too, World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam, Great Depression, Space Shuttle Challenger, and many more.  It’s daunting to think of everything that my grandfather saw in his lifetime.

Grampa Palmer was a kind man, a man that I had never seen angry once in my life.  I remember as a child spending time at my grandparents and he was always so kind and fun to be around.  I never remember him working either.  He retired from the railroad when I was around 4-5 years old, those sparse and sporadic memory years for me.

For years I didn’t think grandparents worked, they were just around to help raise us kids, babysit when my parents needed a night out, and to give us white socks at Christmas and a crisp $5 bill in our birthday cards.

As an accountant and math minor it is this next bit that really makes me smile.  2 people (Grampa Palmer & Grammy Dot) created 4 children, who had 17 grandchildren, who had 34 great-children, and at the time of his passing, 2 great-great-grandchildren.  2 people, are responsible for the life of 57 individuals.  That is amazing!

I didn’t get to spend as much time as I wanted, or as much as I probably should have, with him in the past few years.  It doesn’t take away from the memories I have, but it makes me wish I could have seen him one more time, had one more conversation with him.

I miss you and I love you Grampa!  Say hi to Grammy for all of us, and some day we will all be together again.

Thanks for reading,

-Pete