Last night my husband’s grandfather passed away. I consider him my grandpa, too, because my last grandfather died when I was 14 and when I became part of my husband’s family Grandpa MacKinnon was one of the most welcoming and friendly people of the whole bunch. He never seemed to be in a bad mood. He was the single wittiest person I have ever known and he always had a well-timed wisecrack. He was a loving and caring father and grandfather and everyone around him loved and respected him. I didn’t have the opportunity to know him for very long but I admired his attitude and his fun-loving way of making everyone around him feel at ease.

Grandpa MacKinnon was not biologically related to any of his children or grandchildren because he married his wife after she already had 3 kids with a previous husband who died. He adopted the children as his own but he did not physically father any of them. One of the last times I saw Grandpa was at Grandma’s 90th birthday party. All the family was gathered together for the celebration and we saw some relatives we hadn’t seen in years. I was helping Grandpa walk to the area where we were arranging ourselves for a family photo and as we walked, Grandpa said “For a man who never fathered any children, I sure have a beautiful family, don’t I?” That should tell you what kind of a man he was. He took great pride in his family and was very humble about his contribution to the family. Well, Grandpa, I didn’t say it then, but this is what I was thinking: You were a father in every way that matters and we all loved you for it. You were a great example of what it is to face adversity with faith and courage and to live every moment with joy and a sense of humour and we will miss you very much. Rest in peace.