Grandpa Leo
Leo B Nelson was my maternal grandfather, and passed away last Sunday night at his home. He was born February 15, 1920, and died just shy of his 89th birthday on January 25th, 2009. He has an obituary posted here, and we just had a wonderful funeral service for him on Saturday, but I thought I'd put down some of my memories of him here. In no particular order, here are the things I remember about Grandpa:
He was famous for big pancake breakfasts. They were the most memorable meals on our visits to them in Portland, with Grandpa flipping them on the griddle and scurrying around their kitchen. I remember him making them in Tilden park for our Memorial Day picnics too. Uncle Marshall reported at the funeral that he had mastered this meal and had passed on the family secret to Marshall's branch of the family, so I was tickled that he was willing to share it with Maddie when she asked him. Not least because I make some truly atrocious pancakes. Here's to improvement!
He also made peanut brittle around Christmas time. I remember this both from the tins that they would bring down when they visited, and because he removed the marble from our entry hall washstand to cool the brittle on when he made it at our house.
Grandpa Leo gave us helicopter rides when we were kids. Good to remember that he was vibrant and strong and taller than we were once upon a time. He drove a Chevy Impala when I was young, and I remember meeting the Nelsons at the Nut Tree on the last leg of their trip down to visit us.
He was a mechanic for diesel engines from the time he was 18 until he retired at 68, working for the same company even as it changed hands and names and machinery. I always associate him (along with my dad) as one of those people who could fix anything, and I recall lots of fixing and tinkering and basement time when he was around. Leo was also of the incredibly hardworking variety, usually up at 5:30am in the epoch when I remember him, working first in his garden, then walking or splitting firewood he'd cut down for his wood stove. Even vacations were full of jobs like chopping down the tree in our backyard, and repairing sundry appliances and automobiles.
Leo also loved music and had a lovely tenor voice. We heard John sing one of his standards, "Spirit of God" which was new to me, but I do remember him singing hymns around the piano with us, and more recently, a duet of "The Naughty Lady of Shady Lane" with Roger the day we blessed Madeline. He had an optimistic outlook, a fun and energetic personality, and was game for a good time. When he met my father and gave his blessing on my parents' wedding, my dad had to return to Provo to work before the engagement ring was finished. Once it was, Grandpa Leo took my mother up to Rocky Butte and serenaded her before giving her the ring for my father in absentia. It strikes me as indicative of a person who knew how to celebrate life's events.
He was famous for big pancake breakfasts. They were the most memorable meals on our visits to them in Portland, with Grandpa flipping them on the griddle and scurrying around their kitchen. I remember him making them in Tilden park for our Memorial Day picnics too. Uncle Marshall reported at the funeral that he had mastered this meal and had passed on the family secret to Marshall's branch of the family, so I was tickled that he was willing to share it with Maddie when she asked him. Not least because I make some truly atrocious pancakes. Here's to improvement!
He also made peanut brittle around Christmas time. I remember this both from the tins that they would bring down when they visited, and because he removed the marble from our entry hall washstand to cool the brittle on when he made it at our house.
Grandpa Leo gave us helicopter rides when we were kids. Good to remember that he was vibrant and strong and taller than we were once upon a time. He drove a Chevy Impala when I was young, and I remember meeting the Nelsons at the Nut Tree on the last leg of their trip down to visit us.
He was a mechanic for diesel engines from the time he was 18 until he retired at 68, working for the same company even as it changed hands and names and machinery. I always associate him (along with my dad) as one of those people who could fix anything, and I recall lots of fixing and tinkering and basement time when he was around. Leo was also of the incredibly hardworking variety, usually up at 5:30am in the epoch when I remember him, working first in his garden, then walking or splitting firewood he'd cut down for his wood stove. Even vacations were full of jobs like chopping down the tree in our backyard, and repairing sundry appliances and automobiles.
Leo also loved music and had a lovely tenor voice. We heard John sing one of his standards, "Spirit of God" which was new to me, but I do remember him singing hymns around the piano with us, and more recently, a duet of "The Naughty Lady of Shady Lane" with Roger the day we blessed Madeline. He had an optimistic outlook, a fun and energetic personality, and was game for a good time. When he met my father and gave his blessing on my parents' wedding, my dad had to return to Provo to work before the engagement ring was finished. Once it was, Grandpa Leo took my mother up to Rocky Butte and serenaded her before giving her the ring for my father in absentia. It strikes me as indicative of a person who knew how to celebrate life's events.
Finally, Grandpa Leo loved my kids. Rob and I couldn't see them without having both Leo and Eunice telling us how proud they are of us, what a good job they think we're doing and how much they think of the kids. I feel extremely fortunate that our children have been able to know him this long, and will have memories of their own from Grandpa's life. 
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MOM