Robert Ray Crum.

Once there was a man.
A strong and stubborn man.
He stood tall and powerful.
Always watchful, always stern.
A man with unchangeable faith.
A man as tough as nails
yet as gentle as a breeze.
This was a man that I never understood.
We didn't see eye to eye.
At times I felt like he didn't see me at all.
He only seemed to see things his is way,
and I couldn't see past that.
During his last days I wasn't around.
My last memory of him was a happy one.
I got to see him at my sisters wedding,
full of pride and joy at her life.
I wrote a letter to my grandpa during his last hours.
I never got to share it with him.
Now I set it free.

Dear Grandpa-

Thank you for the family you helped create.

Thank you for being a man people could always count on for help.

Thank you for passing on your stubborn genes, 

the kind that get things done.

Thank you for helping me buy my first car.

Thank you for always giving people a home. 

Thank you for your example of hard work. 

Thank you for loving my cousins. 

Thank you for all you've done for my siblings 

and for taking care of my mom.

Thank you for letting Granma take care of you...

and for eating pie.

I love you.