A.F. Sheppard

Yesterday, my Grandfather passed away. He went by Fred, but his full name was Arthur Frederick Sheppard. He raised three sons and a daughter and retired as a postman. I thank God that the end was peaceful and that my Dad was with him. He has always been active and healthy and had been declining the last few years. I really cannot believe he is gone. I have not spent lots of time with Grandpa but he has always been around. I have just always counted on the fact that I still had a living grandparent. I am lucky for all the time I was given with him. I wish that I had been able to have known my Grandmother, she died when I was just a baby. I share her middle name, Jane. I am happy that they are together again.

I formed my images of my Grandmother by listening intently every time there was a story told about her. I remember one time my Grandpa allowed me to look through a book of letters and cards they had exchanged, most of them during the war. It wasn't long before Esther, my step grandmother of the last 30 years, came upon us and told my Grandpa to put it away but I remember the feeling like she was right there with us. I have imagined her as always being by me, sort of a guardian angel and I wonder how Grandpa will play in this. I hope he will be around also. He has a great sense of humor. He has always been very grand and I have always loved how he talks. He was born in Florida and had a very "southern" way of speaking. He had a difficult childhood and upbringing. My Dad recently told me he was going to run away and join the circus when he was younger. Instead, he joined the Navy. He was based at Point Sur when he met my Grandma and one of my favorite stories is of him walking to see her. That is somewhere around 13 or 14 miles. The story is foggy and I'm sure I will be corrected but I believe there was a time limit on his leave and it may have been raining. Either way, the story has always seemed very romantic to me.
My Grandpa was a kind, loving man. I will miss him but I am happy that he is at peace and with my Grandma. I was unsure of posting this here. Nobody close to me has passed on since I have been blogging. But, this has been the place where I have chronicled my life. I feel I have written a lot about the people I love and this is befitting for someone that has been a big part of who I am. So, in memoery of my grandfather, I would like to make this weeks list about memories. Here are five memories I have of my Grandpa Fred......

#1. He called us Honeychild. Yes, it is one word, the way I heard it.The inflection and accent just cannot be matched or duplicated. And he always used the Jane in conjunction with my first name.

#2. One time when we were driving through the tunnel in Monterey I begged him to honk the horn, like everybody else does. He just said" Only MR's honk in the tunnel." I have never forgotten that.

#3. Riding in his car. He had a chocolate brown, little boxy BMW that had sheepskin seat covers and leather seats. They were the softest things I have ever sat on.

#4. Watching him stretch in the morning when I spent the night. He would change his calendar everyday and stretch. He tried on his Navy uniform every year on his birthday. That was how he judged his fitness. It almost always fit. When I stayed over he would fix breakfast. Jimmy Dean sausage and fresh squeezed orange juice.

#5. My grandpa always made me feel good about myself. Even when I felt horrible, he always told me I looked pretty. He always told me he was proud of my accomplishments. He took notice when I cut my hair.

I don't really know what else to say. This was a little harder than I thought. There are just too many memories. I cannot imagine what it is like for my Dad and I am thinking of him and praying for him. So let me end by thanking God for my time with Grandpa, the memories I have and the memories my children have. I love you Grandpa Fred, I hope you will come see me in my dreams. I will listen for you......