It was over 15 years ago that I lost my last grandparent. I have managed to navigate life's challenges with only childhood memories of my grandparent’s words of wisdom; that is until I married Dave! Ove and Helen Pearson took me under their wings and into their family immediately and never looked back. For the last several years I have felt the love of a grandparent ... and it sure is something to treasure!
On April 14th Ove Pearson passed away, the day before we were due to arrive in Seattle for a visit. For Ove, it was undoubtedly in perfect timing. He did want Dave's last memory of him to be lying in a hospital bed struggling through the last breaths of life. While Dave will forever remember his hero flying a kite at the beach, laughing boisterously, and loving his family furiously; we are both troubled with very heavy hearts since our goodbyes were whispered over a phone and not sealed with a tender kiss to the cheek. Today was the memorial service for Ove and again we were apart from family and unable to share in the celebration of the life. My heart aches and I am overwhelmed with sadness that we are thousands of miles away from family at such an important time and on such an important day. It is hard to come up with the perfect and poignant words to express my thoughts and emotions, but I feel that it’s important to try and sort through what is in my head and in my heart to share with those that I love.
What kind of person was Ove? In short, Ove Pearson was, as Dave's dad said, "one of the good guys". Ove was a man of honor, whether it was always speaking tenderly and truthfully or fighting for his country in the Korean war and enduring both physical and emotional wounds, he always conducted himself with the utmost grace, dignity, and honor. Ove was a man of family ... in truth his entire world was his family. To say that he was a dedicated husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather I feel is an understatement. I can’t even begin to imagine the pain and feelings of loneliness and loss that come with a spouse developing Alzheimer’s. But even though Ove was undoubtedly and understandably hurt that his wife no longer recognized him, he never once left Helen’s side or gave up caring for her. That love and compassion extended to his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. I will never forget the look of pure joy on his face as Ove held Jakob Ove Pearson and Taylor Rose Pearson for the first time. I believe that moment will remain one of my most treasured and proud moments as a parent. Ove has touched my life and in such a short amount of time and helped to shape me into the adult that I am. But even more importantly, Ove helped shape my husband into the man he is today. Dave would not be the husband and the father that he is without the examples of his father Steve and his grandfather Ove.
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