Yesterday at 2 am I received the call I knew would come.
Sometime yesterday, January 19, 2005 my grandfather Glenn Bolyard passed away. He was 79 years old. His mind and body had been ravished by a disease of the mind – Alzheimer’s. He was a man with many flaws and a lot good. Just like all of us. He loved and lived life.
My grandparents were married for almost 60 years. My grandmother is devastated. Shattered.
While grandpa left us yesterday, he like many other Alzheimer’s patients, actually started to leave us many years ago. Slowly, oh so slowly. A missed word, forgotten task or confusion at a simple problem. The signs are so subtle but not at the end.
He’s in a better place now. My sincere hope is that his heaven is filled with 18 wheelers, country music and a few bottles of whiskey hidden under the dock. Some hunting and dirt racing mixed with spending time with his family. Grandpa’s eyes once again displaying the fire that earned him the name Fireball.
