He had been sick since the spring, and his decline was pretty rapid.
Thankfully, we'd been in Utah for a few weeks in June and we were able to spend time with him. I'm so grateful that my kids could see him again and that Jake and I could talk with him in person.
In fact, in what was our last visit to his home during the trip, I had the opportunity to have a wonderful personal conversation with him.
We talked about his health, his knowledge that he was getting close to the end, his desire to see his mother, father, and son again, and his hope that he'd done the best he could in life. He said that he had lived a bountous life and had much to be grateful for. He talked about my Grandma and how she was so strong and loyal and gave his testimony of staying close to the church and to the Lord.
It was a wonderful conversation. I was able to express my love for him and my desire to see him again, whether on earth or on heaven. We both shed some tears and it was a sweet moment to communicate with each other. He had been suffering that day (his lungs were filling with fluid and had to be drained daily) and when my Dad came into the room to ask him how he was doing, he said, "I was doing poorly, but I'm better, after having talked to this fine girl."
J and I were able to fly up for his funeral and were so grateful to hear the things said to memorialize him. I am grateful for all of my Romney family members and know that our Grandpa's legacy is ours to carry on.
I'll always be grateful for his wonderful example to me. He worked hard, loved his family and the cougars, stayed true to the gospel, and had a wonderful sense of humor.
Because my Grandpa served as the Attorney General of Utah there was a lot written up about him in the press. He was a true lover of newspapers and current events. In addition, the day of his funeral the Governor of Utah ordered that all state flags be flown at half mast in honor of my Grandpa. We saw the ones at the capitol and were grateful for this kind act of remembrance.
Links can be found to these publications:
Daily Herald obituary
KUTV
Salt Lake Tribune
Deseret News
New York Times
KCSG television
Wikipedia
Write ups were also found in the Miami Herald, Enquirer Herald, and Westport News, but the links have since been removed.
2 comments:
Great shout out to Grandpa Vern. I'm so glad you had that final conversation with him and that you and Jake could come up for his funeral. He left us a wonderful example to follow in all things.
Thanks for the post, Jord. It brought tears to my eyes. I am so glad to be my dad's son, and I'm so glad that you are his grandkids. He did leave a great legacy of faith, family, humor, courage, toughness, and goodness, and we will all do well to follow his example. No doubt that he was and is a great servant of the Lord.
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