Losing the Family Patriarch

OK, I guess I'm ready to sit and write about this now.....

On the 21 of January, 2008 our family lost a wonderful man. A man who was father to 7 (one of them being a nephew that he raised), grandfather to more than 40 grandkids and their spouses, and great-grandfather to more than 40 more.

My grandfather, Max Court, was the epitome of a wonderful grandfather. He showed equal love to all his grandkids, taught us wonderful lessons and was ever vocal about his faith in the gospel and beliefs in the church. He was a great athlete; playing softball and riding a bike well into his 60's. He had an immaculate yard and fabulous vegetable garden. And he seemed to be in his element when his tiny, 2 bedroom house was overrun with family.

I have a lifetime of memories about he and my grandmother (who we lost almost 9 years ago). My grandpa had a huge impact on my family's life.....and I mean my personal little family. He baptized me when I was 8 yrs old. He was the one who gave my first son a name and blessing......and he's the one who baptized my husband when he joined the church back in 1999.

He would tease, torment and grill every boyfriend I ever brought around in high school. He instilled in me a love of the gospel and a deep rooted respect for the priesthood. I think I got my love of crossword and jigsaw puzzles from him. I named my middle son after him, which brought him to tears when we shared with him our boy's name. And he sang the most wonderful old cowboy ballads. But my favorite song he would sing to me when I was little was called "Daddy's little girl". It was a song that Elvis used to sing, but my grandpa would always substitute the word "daddy" with the word "grandpa". I'm going to miss him. And it makes my heart happy to know that his last words to me were, "I love you sweetheart. You're a good girl."