My Wonderful Grandpa

When I was back in Wisconsin last month we had found out my Grandpa had Cancer.  He never complained in all the years I knew him, but in the past few months he said his back was really bothering him and when they finally did an MRI they found Cancer.  I had come home on Wednesday and had gone to meet my Dad and him at the Hospital on Friday since they said his Kidneys were failing and he needed to be admitted immediately.  I had gone with my Dad to see him on Sunday and that afternoon he was put into Hospice.  Dad and I had gone to visit him again on Monday morning before we went Wine Tasting with my Aunts & Uncles (something we had planned for the past month) and as soon as we got done we went straight back to the Hospice.  Dad and I told stories about Grandpa, my Aunt & Uncle showed up, Bobby had called to say goodbye since he was on tour with his band and in the middle of nowhere and wouldn't have been able to make it home in time, and Grandpa's Priest had come and given the final blessing.  We had told Grandpa that it was ok to go home to to his wife and my Grandma, Isabel, his daughter, Nadene, and my Mom.  We held his hand and he peacefully left us.  It couldn't have been a more gentlemanly way for him to go, and my Dad noticed he had 'stick grip.'  My Grandpa loved airplanes and was always flying so this was completely normal for him as he flew up to Heaven to all of his loved ones that had already passed on.

My wonderful Grandpa, Edward!

Grandma & Grandpa - Milwaukee, WI (1940's)

I wrote this post after he died that evening and parts of it were also used for his Obituary.  'My Grandpa, Edward Wegner, achieved so much in his life and was an inspiration to many.  He passed at 7 pm tonight with family around and holding his hand.  We told stories at his bedside and I found out some wonderful memories he had shared with my Dad just recently.  He was a WWII Veteran, a Pilot that the Air Force tried to weed out because he was a Wisconsin farm boy that couldn't possibly be a good enough Pilot.  Yet, he had learned to fly from a neighbor who had an airplane and did his first solo trip at 16 years old.  A little bit of a rebel, owning a motorcycle his Father didn't know about, he hated cleaning the chicken coop, and bought an Auto Body Shop in Plymouth which became Wegner's Auto Body, that my Dad currently runs.  He got married to my Grandma, Isabel in 1947, had my Aunt Nadene and Dad, and loved taking the family on Summer trips all over the US.  One of his favorite trips with my Grandma was to Ireland.  Grandpa was inducted into the EAA Hall of Fame in 1999 and flew his airplane just this last year at 90 years old!  In fact, he was the first person that I flew in an airplaine with (and usually his open cockpit 1929 C3 Spartan) and if he wasn't working in his woodshop, he was taking walks and talking with everyone.'  I couldn't be more proud to be his Granddaughter.

So many friends and relatives showed up for the funeral to share stories about Grandpa; mostly people he knew from the airport and had only even interacted with just a handful of times.  He clearly made an impression on everyone!  They had Military Rites for him which brought me to tears, it was a wonderful memorial to him!  I never doubt that I hit the family jackpot in all aspects, my Grandparents, my Mom & Dad, and all my aunts, uncles, cousins, and more.  I'm so thankful to have the family that I do and we all have some pretty amazing Angels looking out for all of us <3