last weekend we got the call from my dad that our grandpa eggers had passed away early that morning.
though you never would have known from his demeanor, grandpa had been suffering from dementia for many, many years.. even before anyone other than our grandma had known. he was kind. sweet. and even as his memory had gone, he always greeted us with a smile every time we went to see him. the last few years, he started to not remember our names or how he knew us, but he was still gentle as could be and the kids always brought a smile to his face.
we most recently went to see him for his 84th birthday while i was pregnant with mills and it was such a fun visit for all of us. this man… gosh, guys. i have so many wonderful memories of him and my grandma.
as a kid, i remember going to their farm {they lived on 53 acres}, and getting to ride the tractors, going on hikes and playing games in their living room. we always celebrated easter out there and easter egg hunts were among my favorite.

he was smart.
so, so smart. my dad never knew what grandpa did for a living growing up, he just knew he would travel. turns out, grandpa worked for the government, doing reverse engineering on missiles. i can’t even do justice to what he did…taking apart missiles from russia, figuring out what they know. but he served our country proudly. i remember watching him working on the tractor in the barn one day thinking that he knew how to do everything.

he was a caretaker.
my grandma was diagnosed with a genetic degenerative disease, charcot marie tooth, as a child and used crutches early in her life, followed by mobility in a wheelchair exclusively as she got older. when they met in a bowling alley, they fell in love and grandpa knew he wanted to marry her, despite everyone’s hesitations for him caring for ‘a cripple’. he chose to love a girl with a physical disability and knew he wanted to be her caretaker.. it most certainly never affected grandma’s cognitive abilities and i’ll never forget grandma telling me one day when baking cookies that they were made for each other.
he taught me so many lessons in life, but the way he loved my grandma despite her disability has stayed with me, and maybe even impacting me more now that i have my own children.

he loved his family.
it’s not hard to tell from these pictures that this man was full of so much love. honestly, looking at these, i know he couldn’t have com up with mine or the girls names, and maybe not even that i was his granddaughter… but he loved these two little girls and laughed and laughed at their antics, regardless. his heart was so full of love for us and deep down, i think he always knew that. we would have sleep overs with our cousins at their house and he would always sneak us extra cookies, telling us not to tell our dad because he wouldn’t have been allowed when he was our age. he never minded us sitting on his lap on the tractor, taking us for hikes and warming us up with hot chocolate while he had his coffee.

erich lee eggers
after i received the call that grandpa had passed, nothing but good memories started flooding in. i knew his mind was finally free and he was reunited with grandma. their love for the lord radiated and knowing his health and happiness was restored is a breath of fresh air. the number of happy, funny and joyful memories that were told this weekend in honor of grandma is such a testament to the way he lived his life and the impact he had on those who knew him. 
i love you grandpa…
thank you for always being such a beautiful part of my life. for raising a man that i look up to so much in my life. your name will carry on with your great grandson, miller lee. your story will be told on, and on, and we will treasure the memories we have with you, forever.

xoxo