Eulogy from Chad Ketcher and read today at the funeral by Jesse.



Warning: this is not as brief as I originally intended. Thanks in advance for your patience as I deliver my eulogy electronically.

My family and I will not be able to attend the funeral, which grieves us deeply, but we are glad that we got to spend some time with him before he moved. I have often thought what I would say if asked to give a eulogy. A hundred things came to mind. If I had actually delivered it, the audience and I would all have been exhausted by the end. So much to say about him and how he impacted us all. My heart is with whomever steps up to speak. Each of us has a long story to tell...each capturing a unique aspect of what it is like to know him. Not was...is. He is not in his body, but he is very much alive. I'm sure he has much he would like to say to us as well.
I regret that I didn't get one more opportunity to play cards with him here before he moved to his new place, but I will have all of eternity to play with him on the other side (and trust me, I will). It won't be quite the same because he won't cuss at the cards or make obscene comments and gestures to his partners, which is part of what made the game so entertaining, but I look forward to it nonetheless.
I have tried several times over the years to take an interest in pro football, but I can sit and watch a game all afternoon and not get a thing out of it because it's just not right without Grandpa barking at the TV. I realized some time ago that I don't care about the game all that much...it's the time I spent with him, Jeff, and Greg. Sunday afternoons, with the ladies upstairs cooking. It was so important to me that one time, when I called to ask permission to come over to watch the game, Grandpa said I was already knocking on his door before he had hung up the phone. Do you have any idea how many people - how many families - don't have something like that to look back on? We are blessed.
I find it soothing to think that Grandpa will be spending Christmas with HIS mom and dad and sister for the first time in how many years. Yes, ours will be emptier without him, but his will be joyful beyond compare.
In his new place, there are no weeds in the yard, horseshoes always fly straight, and the Twins always win the pennant. Noone gives ties for Christmas. You don't have to have two residences 1,500 miles apart to enjoy nice weather all year long, and everyone there has long since forgotten about his perm. Ann Kranz will walk over him to greet him. Everything that confused him makes sense to him now.
His work ethic is an example to us all, as is his easy-going manner. He is, and always will be, a good man, even if we can't see him.

Grandpa, we love you and my little family is better because we knew you.

Chad