Friday, September 11, 2009

Super Angie...The Dog Gone Dog is Gone--Woof!

Tonight at around 8:45 pm Utah time, my grandpa, Everett Paulson passed away in Orlando, Florida.

My Grandpa was 87 yrs old. He lived a hard but rewarding life.

My grandpa was a master wood carver. He has made such beautiful carvings through out his life. Some of my favorites: the bed he made for my mom, which I was blessed to use as a girl and that Tanith will get to use when she gets older, the cabinet in my front room, the horses in my front room, the full size-fully working Model T car (what a stunner!!!), the round table, the Vernal Tithing building,my front porch swing, the red truck, boat and trailer he made me as a child, the china cabinet, the green wagon we have in our garage and of course, all the tiny black chairs so man of us have.

When I would visit my Grandpa in Sacramento (when I was a child), he would take just me out for breakfast. We would go to a pancake house type of place. I would always order the same thing--because it was tradition. English muffin, orange juice and a hot chocolate.

When I was growing up, I had a speech problem and couldn't say my S sound right. When I wanted Grandpa to push me on the swing in his back yard, I would say, "TING ME!". He lovingly carved TING ME into the front porch swing I have (its not a swing right now though--its a bench with legs).

Grandpa loved to tell jokes. There was one about a Quarter back, that I still don't understand, but I will always remember him telling EVERYONE these jokes. He would always talk to the waitresses and tell them all sorts of jokes.

I remember my grandpa taking me to Flaming Gorge.

I remember spending several weeks with my grandpa in Vernal. He took me to my first Rodeo. He also gave me a book about drawing.

My grandpa loved serving others. He was a great help at one of the elementary schools in Vernal. He loved helping the kids with their Times Tables. I wish he could have done that with my boys. He had a passion for it.

He was a very tall and big man. Over six feet tall. I remember his cowboy hat size was very VERY big. My brother Paul and his son Andy have Grandpa's big head. :)

He always winked and had a twinkle in his eye.

He loved going to the temple and would go at least once a week when he lived in Vernal.

On Monday, I was able to talk to him in the hospital after his stroke. He had a feeding tube and an oxygen mask on, but I was able to understand him. I told him "I LOVE YOU" and he said it back. I told him, "THE DOG GONE DOG IS GONE" and he said, "WOOF".

When I was a child, my dad's mom (Oma Hilde) died. My Grandpa tells the story that my parents wrote him a letter talking about the death of my Oma. I had no clue what was written in the letter, but on the envelope, I wrote, "THE DOG GONE DOG IS GONE--Woof" which was our little inside joke. He read that, laughed and then opened the card and in his word, "It said, Hilde's dead". LOL He laughed and laughed and made me promise that his tomb stone would say" The dog gone dog is gone-Woof". It was our great joke.

I'm thankful for my grandpa. He loved the Lord. He loved the gospel. He worked hard to be a good person. He loved serving others and smiling and laughing. He had a hard childhood but lived a great life. He was strong and honest and true.

I love you Grandpa. WOOF!

--Super Angie

9 comments:

Amy said...

I am so sorry for your loss Angie, thinking of you!!

BigFunFamily said...

Angie,
What a sweet tribute! I have so many memories of your grandpa. We would always go visit him in Sacramento. It was the biggest treat to get to sit on the porch swing. Ever since, I have always dreamed of having a porch swing for myself : ) I adored the little table and chair he made me. My children used them to death! I remember how sad he was when Aunt Arla got sick. I remember him carving the great seal of the state of California. I was so amazed that he could make such beautiful things from wood. I remember him putting the finishing touches on the Model T. We watched as he screwed on the horn, then we saw him drive it down the street! Very cool! We visited many times at his home in Vernal. One time he took us out to see Joseph Paulson's house in Jensen. My love for family history really took a leap forward after that trip--to see the actual place where my ancestors lived was thrilling. My son, Paul, also has Uncle Everett's big head and his love of creating things with his hands. I remember being surprised to hear (when I was really little) that Uncle Everett was my grandpa's brother. They seemed so different to me, but looking back--there was so much the same.
Angie, I truly loved your grandpa. I am happy that he has "graduated" from this difficult life to a much better place.
Woof!

Otter Mum's Den said...

Woof! What a great tribute to your grandpa! It makes me wish I had known him in person!
Love you and your family.

JAnderegg said...

What great memories. And what a neat man! I miss my grandpa!

Wendy Jean said...

I guess the appropriate response is Woof! I always LOVED those little black chairs! Glad the funeral went well.

Super Angie Супер Энджи said...

Wendy, thanks! YOU ROCK!!!! :)

Super Angie's MOM said...

thanks sweetie for the nice tribute to my father. I love you

Charles Miske said...

My first memory of him was at our wedding reception when he pulled me aside and told me to take good care of you and the boys or else. A couple years later at another meeting he pulled me aside again and told me I'd earned his respect and he liked the way I treated you, but especially how I was raising the boys. I felt really good about that. He was a great man imho.

Wendi said...

So sorry for your loss. That was a really beautiful post. It's obvious that he was a special person.

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