Thursday, February 25, 2010

In Memory of Grandpa Dow

Last week I learned that my grandfather had passed away at his home in Tennessee at the age of 86. Always of sound mind, his body gradually failed him as he battled Parkinson's Disease. I'm sad that I will no longer see my Grandpa but his passing does remind me of all of the great memories he left me with.

I have a bounty of fond memories from summer vacations spent at my grandparents' house in Tennessee. Grandpa taught me how to fish which became a highlight of summer. Of course, he would proceed to gut whatever I caught (usually bream or catfish) as I recoiled in horror! I used to love to watch my Grandpa operate his ham radio station (call sign: K4VR) and to play with his radios, learning how they worked and listening to all kinds of interesting transmissions on the HF bands. Those experiences motivated me to eventually become a licensed ham at age 17 (call sign: KF4LAJ). Grandpa was also a famous backseat driver and I fondly remember learning to drive around Winchester while getting rather aggressive suggestions about what I could or should be doing! I would be remiss to not mention his love of seafood (OK, food in general) and his passion for cleaning his plate at every single meal. Every time I clean my plate (which actually seems like most of the time these days!) I can't help but think that he would be proud!

Besides my personal memories, I would also like to share some of many great pictures of Grandpa from my collection. Grandpa, we love you and miss you!

Pictures of Grandpa Dow!

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