My Uncle Grant

I've been holding off writing about my uncle for a long time now, simply because I really don't think his life and his goodness and the love that I feel for him can be summed up in a word doc. I really don't know what to say. It's all very personal and I will say simply, that he means a lot to me. To my family and to thousands of people.

Grant is married to my dad's sister Kathy and I always knew him as "Uncle Granite" who loved to climb mountains, was an avid hiker and outdoorsman and loved the beauty and adventure of nature. He was the quiet hero in our family. The one who escaped death after a freezing night stuck in the Grand Tetons after a climb gone wrong. He was the one you'd look to if we were on a hike and the path looked unstable. His kindness and humble smile went with him everywhere in every situation with everyone he met.

He has a beautiful 15 year old daughter, Alex, who inherited his sweet spirit. He loved his family and would do anything for them.

Grant disappeared this year on March 2nd on his way driving to a work meeting in Boise. For four months there was no sign of him. It was as if he disappeared into thin air. Search parties worked tirelessly to find any clue but turned up no signs. Once the snow was gone and water levels dropped, a photographer spotted the top of a car undearneath the water in a small reservoir in Mountain Home, Idaho. Grant's car had slid off the icy road in March and he was unable to get out of the car before it sunk.

Grant's funeral, on July 2nd, was a truly beautiful service. Friends and loved ones who had been touched by the goodness and love of Grant gathered to mourn the loss of this truly wonderful man. I can still hear his laugh when I think of him. I see his white mustache twitching and his foot kicking at the dirt, the smile wrinkles around his eyes gathering. It makes me smile to think of him.

I love you Uncle Grant.