Grandpa V.'s Legacy

"I am blessed," the grandfather of our school would say as he would give free hugs to anyone for the taking. He was known by many names, but the halls would frequently ring out with children going to help "Grandpa V." as he was affectionately called with his letters and numbers. He was our oldest kindergartner at the age of 97 and had been in kindergarten for over 30 years at our school. He would arrive early to school to take down all the chairs in the kindergarten wing. After the 88 chairs were down, he would start helping the kindergarten teachers in any task needed. I watched him cut out 90 giant toothbrushes during the Dental unit, and I saw him hang 90 Fire Prevention posters in the hall. After the announcements and Pledge of Allegiance he would have kindergartners in each hand and several following close behind to go down the hall to "help" Grandpa V. learn his letters.

At the age of 97, Grandpa V. volunteered over 1000 hours a year. In his lifetime at our school he easily chalked up over 30,000 hours. I remember one time I had slipped on some spilt milk in the cafeteria and needed to go have an x-ray. He volunteered to drive me to the hospital. Normally I would have accepted the ride, but I had seen Grandpa V. drive and it resembled that of my teenage son at times. He might have been in an old body, but he was very much young at heart. When he was in the hospital after having a heart attack, I told him I had tried out for the school Talent Show. He had me sing to him my act. He was "rockin'" out to the music in his hospital bed. After visiting with him, I was the one that felt better.

There was a time I nominated him for a state award. I was working with our Communications Director on describing how important Grandpa V. was to our school. I was grasping for words when I saw Grandpa V. running past my window with a kindergartner holding his hand. After his 90th birthday, Grandpa V. could still be found going down the slide on the playground. His broken hip only slowed him down slightly because he had to depend on a walker.

When flu season broke out, he still insisted on showing up to school. There were many times his attendance at school exceeded the teachers' attendance. He was a part of our faculty and a part of our family. We always included him in faculty lunches. He made it a point to show up to school board meetings each year to advocate for teacher salary raises.

Anytime anyone would ask Grandpa V., "How are you doing today?" He would always respond, "I am blessed." In June after Grandpa V. had seen the school talent show, and after the last student had dropped by his house behind the school to get him to sign their yearbook, he was "promoted to glory." I had the honor of being able to hold his hand as went into Heaven.

I especially missed Grandpa V. today. There were a couple of guys in my 6th grade class that just needed a grandpa today. Also, I know there's a couple of kindergartners that could really benefit from his help. I really miss seeing him in our hallways, but more than anything, I miss his hugs. He would give me a hug that would often come at the end of "one of those days" and I would tell him, "Oh Grandpa V., thank you so much!" He would smile and say, "Oh no, thank you. I am so blessed."

We should all be so lucky to have a Grandpa V. around us. Our lives are forever changed for the better having known him. As a reminder of his committment and dedication to education, on the back of our faculty ID badges, we have a his picture with the inscription, "I am blessed because I knew Grandpa V."