There was a man that everybody looked up to. He was with out a doubt the toughest man I ever knew. He was smart, kind, funny, and wise and he would never hesitate to crack a joke in a moment of sadness. To his friends he was known as Simmy; to me he was known as grandpa.

Simon was born January 19, 1922. He was the son of Joseph and Eleanor, and had seven siblings to grow up with. Simmy was always a troublemaker I can tell by the way he acts now always playing jokes and the life of the party.

Simmy lived a hard life and to this day I can’t figure out how he made it to an old age, In fact my mom always told me that he had nine lives. By the time I was born he was about on his sixth. It started when he was a young lad, his mom sent him and his brother to church one Sunday but Simmy being the way he is dropped his brother off and took off in his car. To my understanding he was in a terrible accident that put him in to a comma. The doctors told his family that he would never pullout but sure enough Simmy being as strong as he was woke up from his coma after 30 days.
A few years later he was drafted into the army were he was a medic. Now he never liked to talk much about World War 2 but I do know this. One day he was in a tank when it unfortunately broke down and he was captured by German troops. After a few days the army declared him dead. The news got back to his family and it broke his mother’s heart. I could only imagine what she felt with nothing but a US flag to comfort her. Simmy was nearly beaten to death in that prison and he wondered if he was ever going to get out. Finally that day came the Germans brought a man in to kill him and his fellow prisoners but what they did not count on was the fact that Simmy could speak German. Now I don’t know what exactly was said but some how Simmy cheated death again by talking the man out of killing him and his fellow men. It was at that time when he saw the US flag rise up in the distance, and it was on that faithful day he was saved. Back in the states his mother was still grieving over the loss of her son when a car pulled into the driveway and man got out walked up to the door and when his mom answered the first thing he did was gave his mom a big hug and they both cried tears of joy.
After the war was over and Simmy was just getting his life back on track he received some good news it seemed his brother was going to purpose to his long time girlfriend. Sadly Simmy never got a chance to sit down and celebrate with him because after purposing he was on his way home when he hit the side of a bridge and was decapitated. Simmy was called in to identify him and that was the last time he saw his brother.
After his tough childhood he married Revella and they were blessed with five beautiful children Glenn, Sharon, Donna, Judy, and Amy. At some point in his life he was diagnosed with colon cancer but with the love and support of his friends and family he pulled through. After his kids grew up the family exploded and at this point in time there is currently 82 of us. I will always regret not being around with my older cousins because form what I hear that was when my grandpa would take them up to his cottage and they would drink and have a good time. Keep in mind that some of them were only about 12 when he got them started.
It wasn’t till I was born when my grandpa started to slow down and when I was about 14 his kidneys started to fail and he had to start going to dialysis. The doctor told us that a man of his age will last two years at the most but once again my grandpa surprised us all by lasting nearly four years. About two weeks ago my grandpa took a turn for the worst and the doctors gave him only two days to live and I will be forever great full that God let my family and I spend his last few days with him. On January 3, 2008 my grandpa passed away with his kids and his wife of 60 years by his side.
To his friends he was known as Simmy; to me He will always be grandpa.