About my grandpa

I'm grieving the passing of my grandfather, Gale Fox, who passed away last week. I wrote this little essay about him to help collect my thoughts. I really love my grandpa:

Gale Fox

I remember him always strong and rugged, grinning, a cap tilted slightly on his head.
His gold ring with the red stone, his sturdy gold watch.
Telling a story.
A meticulous story-teller, he remembered everything in vivid detail and his style was narrative and he would laugh to start and end every new chapter. A lovely, soothing high-pitched laugh, just a couple of chuckles, before his story veered on to another path.
The old rooster that chased them around in the farmyard.
His classmates from gradeschool, kicking the chair legs out from underneath the other.
The guys on the railroad, peeing out the window. Prank stories seemed to be his favorite.
Just having fun.
He so loved his wife and it hurt him so much to watch her suffer in any way.
He loved to be busy. To figure out ways to save or make money.
Often in his later years he would drive from one store to the next looking for the best deal on essentials like toothpaste and treats like those Pot of Gold candies. And he'd drive back if he got over-charged and see that he got his money back.
He never did win the Publishers Clearing House but he made a heck of a run at it.
He loved to fish. But he rarely if ever got to go alone. Always there was a grandchild's hook to worm or a tangled line and a lost lure and the grandkids would catch more than he would because he was tending to our rods and bait. But he never cared.
His lap was never empty. He loved to hold us. But he was always on the move. Looking for something to hammer or saw or fix. That man loved to stay busy and he had a gift with building things, that massive tiered deck on Beaver Lake that would have taken an entire crew six months. Remember the vegetables he grew in his garden in Norfolk?
This is a man who accepted us and supported us no matter what, our shortcomings and disappointments and it broke his heart to see us, his children and grandchildren and his great-grandchildren, sad or hurting. He held his daughter as she lay dying of cancer and he showed us all that it is just fine to ask our God, "why," and to move forward with faith when we still don't understand.
We will forever remember our patriarch as this small guy, tougher than nails, with a heart bigger than anyone other than us could imagine. We will remember his stories and his pride and that work ethic, and more than anything how much he was loved and that he showed us how to be a man and a leader of a family.
He has showed us how to live life to the fullest, to be faithful to family and God in our own way and to not compromise our beliefs and how to die like we live, with strength and conviction.
We will forever be proud to be the legacy of Gale Eugene Fox and we pray that we can live our lives with as much honor.