A Tribute To My Grandpa, Thomas Watkins

Thomas Watkins
March 5, 1925 - January 9, 2008
82 years old

Married 58 years to Lillian Watkins

Many words describe the type of person my grandpa was:  Funny, charming, witty, honest, loving, hard working, stern, loyal, jokster, reliable, old fashioned, strict, solid, good, jack of all trades, man of his word, kind, stubborn and family man are just some of many that come to mind.

When ever I entered their home, his words to me were always...."Well there she is...hey squirt".  I was always "squirt" to him.  Very rarely did he ever call me by my real name.

In my younger years, the majority of my memories are of him either working in the garden or the yard, tinkering around in his workshop, fixing something around the house or at night time watching TV in his lazy boy recliner.  He loved to be in his workshop, fixing something or making something.  He just loved to tinker around.  He took great pride in his garden and loved to grow vegetables every year.  They always had a garden until he got older and couldn't keep one up anymore.  He still grew tomatoes every chance he could get though.  If he couldn't have the entire garden, he still wanted those tomatoes!   

I remember sitting on the toilet watching him shave.  He always used one of those old fashioned shaving brushes.  He would swirl it in circles around his face to lather up the shave cream.  Then he'd look down at me and point to my face with the shave brush and ask if I needed to shave my face too....then start giggling and finish shaving.

He was always a jokster.  He stood 6'3" but didn't have an over bearing personality at all.  I don't think my grandpa had a mean bone in his body.  He never raised his voice to anyone, ever.  He would much rather just let things go then to argue about them.  My grandma could chew him out, up and down and he wouldn't ever say a word back to her.  Sometimes, he'd just look at her and laugh...which of course only made her even more mad and she'd storm off and he'd just giggle.  He use to deliberately do things to make her mad.  We always asked him why he did that when he knew it would just set her off, and his answer was always "cuz I know it pushes her buttons, and it's fun to see her get mad".  LOL.....that's my grandpa!

In many of the pictures we have of him, he's either horsing around, making funny poses or faces,  sticking his two fingers up over other people's heads for "rabbit ears", or just not paying attention at all.  Oh, my grandma use to yell at him, PAY ATTENTION, stop acting up, she'd say!  LOL....he'd just laugh and pose for one "normal" photo, then go back to horsing around.  He liked to goof around rather than be serious. 

I remember spending many nights at their house when I was growing up.  He always got up early in the morning long before us kids did.  But he thought, if he was up, then we should be up too.  He didn't like anyone sleeping in.  So he'd sneak into the bedroom quietly, and tickle my nose with a feather until I woke up.  UGH....that use to make me so mad...and he would just walk out of the room laughing so hard.

These last few years his health had declined quite a bit especially through this last year.  He was in and out of the hospital quite a bit and was just plain tired.  He was tired all the time and tired of everything.  Tired of going to so many doctors, tired of being in the hospital, tired of not feeling good and tired of being tired. 

He said many times that he was ready to go.  He just wanted the Lord to take him, were his words.  He didn't want to continue to live the way he was living.  He didn't want to be tired and in pain any longer.

From growing up and remembering him as such a strong man that was always doing something to keep busy to watching him over the last couple years decline to someone that could no longer get out of bed or even turn over anymore by himself was hard.  I know he is in a better place now and he is no longer in any pain or tired.  He can laugh and joke again and just be his old-self once again.

He will be missed, but I have a lot of wonderful memories that I will cherish forever.  One day I will see him again.  One day he will be able to tickle my nose again with a feather and I will be able to hear that contagious giggle of his! 

Until we meet again, I love you grandpa!

-Squirt