Final Grandpa update

He was born December 8, 1926 and died December 12, 2010 at the age of 84.  We got the call on Sunday that he had passed and everyone went down to the hospital to see him and say our goodbyes.  He definitely did not look like my Grandpa anymore.  His spirit was gone.  It was just a body.  I had a final exam yesterday so I really could not focus on the fact that my Grandpa had just passed, but as soon as I was done I just let it all out on my drive home.  I miss him.  I know he would have wanted me to concentrate on school though.  Education was so important to him.  He is the one that pays for my school.  Memories have just been drifting in and out of my head.  He loved to take me shopping for my birthday and we would always go to Schnickel Fritz to eat beforehand.  He loved working in his yard and took such pride in it.  He had hidden trails in his backyard.  He loved to take me to the bookstore so I could get books.  More recently, he loved to eat Ryan's corndogs at Capogna's.  It is just a sad time for us all.  My grandma needs a lot of prayer.  His viewing is on Friday and the funeral is Saturday.  It is really hard because we won't be here.  We are leaving for AZ tomorrow and won't be back for 2 weeks.  The last conversation we had was on Thanksgiving at our house.  He said that I was "gaining a little bit of weight in my middle".  He always would say that, this pregnancy and when I was pregnant with Ryan.  He asked if I could feel the baby kick and he wanted to feel, too.  He asked when the baby was due and he just seemed so excited.  The Hospice nurse pointed out that we lost Grandpa a long time ago because of Alzheimer's and really he had just been a body for a long time.  It' hard to remember the old Grandpa versus the Grandpa we have had for the last 10+ years, but either way he was my Grandpa and I loved him and he is going to be missed.