Grandpa Bascom

On December 24 early in the morning 3:30 to be exact I got a phone call. Lee woke up and said to me the phone keeps ringing Im going to go and see who it is. When he got back up stairs he said it is out of area it is probably your family. I rang the answering service and it was my moms voice saying Alisha its mom give me a call as soon as you get this message. If there is anything I have learned from middle of the night calls it is that they never bring good news. See if someone has good news in my family they would just wait until morning my time and then call. So this call was in a way what I expected Bad News. My mom told me that my Grandpa Bascom had passed away. The rest of this blog post is mostly for me to put my feelings. This is a sort of journal and I feel it is appropriate for me to put memories and thoughts I have of this most amazing man.

Grandpa Bascom was and always will be my Hero. He alwaysw had a huge smile on his face no matter what. When he worked he was in the construction business he was a stucco man. I remember plenty of times going to Grandpas house and he and my uncle Brian and my dad would come home covered in stucco. Grandpa always cared more about everyone else then he did himself. no matter if he was ill or unhappy or what the situation was he was always more worried about how everyone else was and always said he was fine.

My Grandma and Grandpa served a mission in SLC when I was quiet young. I dont remember how old I was but I remember driving to SLC to see them. They served in the Geneology Library and I remember taking a tour with them of where loads of Geneology work was done. It was while on his mission that Grandpa's love grew for Geneology work. After his mission he dedicated most of his time to Genelogy work. Grandpa has done so much work that he has gone back to Adam loads of times with different lines from our family. He loved to go to the temple and do the work for these ancestors. He used to go to the temple two mornings a week and it wasnt easy for him to get there. But he would never miss going to the temple to do the work that he knew was so important.

Grandpa was an amazing poet. I remember there were times when he would be in the middle of a pray and he would say Heavenly Father please hold on a minute. He would go and write a poem or a thought. Here is one that he wrote: If you desire greatness,don't confuse it with Fame. Most of all the great ones, No one ever knows their name. The principles Christ teaches, will always enlarge our soul. To obey the Saviors wishes, Righteousness should be our goal. Loyal fathers amd loving mothers, are in the the fathers plan. There is no work greater..., than to be a righteous man. I was talking to mom the other day and telling her how I would love to have some of his poems in a book and she said that just before he passed away he had paid to get 75 books published one for each of the grandkids and one for each of his children. I cant wait to get a copy of it and to read through his thoughts.

My grandma had to be put into a home quiet a few years ago. Over the years she has deterorated loads. But every day while she was in the home (she still is) Grandpa would go up and visit her for hours. The past few years Grandma hasnt even remembered who he is but he still goes up to visit her. Grandpa would brush her hair, paint her finger nails, put on her lipstick... pretty much anything that grandma would have loved for him to do. He and Grandma were such an example of love to me and how marriage should be. I just hope that when I am old like that people can look at Lee and I and think that is so sweet. That is how love and marriage is supposed to be.

Grandpa was so funny. I remember so many things about growing up with Grandpa Bascom around. Two of the really funny things would have to be one the indian mask that grandpa had. See he used to have this really funny mask that spit water. It is one of those things you just have to see no doubt. He always had that mask out when we were there. Another thing I will always remember is the FUNNY horn that Grandpa had on his van. See when we were growing up Grandma and Grandpa had a big Blue Van (and when that one broke they got a white one) Grandpa had a horn installed into the van which played 20+ songs. You typed in a code and it would play whatever song you typed in. We used to know that Grandma and Grandpa had arrived at our house because we would hear something like Yankee Doodle or She'll be coming round the mountain playing as they drove down the road. It was so much fun.

I miss him! The last time I talked to Grandpa was when we went for a visit in April. Grandpa called and asked to talk to me. While talking to him we laughed and I cried and I knew that it would be the last time I would be able to really talk to him. See anytime I called from the UK grandpa used to say this is costing you too much money so we didnt talk very long. I knew then that would likely be the last time I could feel it. Grandpa was in his mid 80's. Grandpa told me that he loved me and I can still hear him saying it like it was yesterday. I find this so hard. I want to be home with my family to be able to mourn with them. I kind of feel like in a way I am not allowed to mourn and I feel like no one here knows or understands what I am feeling.

One thing I keep trying to imagine is Grandpa up in Heaven. See he had two children who passed away already, my Uncle Guy and my Aunt Judy. Plus my grandpa was the last living in his immediate family. So I can only imagine the reunion he will be having right now with him Mom and dad, His Brothers and Sisters and his Children. Plus I can only imagine all the ancestors that he did temple work for in the past will be so grateful to him too. I know that grandpa used to say when I die I want a party. I dont want you to be sad for me. But I cant help it. I loved him so much. He was truely my hero. He was the most Christlike Person I knew. I just hope that I can live my life the way that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ would have me to do so that someday I can see them and my Grandpa again and live together forever with them and all my family. I am so grateful for the knowledge that I have of the gospel and of eternal families. It is the only thing that makes death a little easier.