Holland's new jammies

I heard Holland was a little bummed by some of her presents this year, however, her favorite seem to be her new pajamas. While they might be a little too warm for the Arizona climate, they're certain to give her the comfort and provide that certain 'look' she's aspiring for.

Blake Claus

WHEN BLAKE CLAUS COMES

My favorite time of the year just came, I'm glad it was here,

It was the very best time of the whole entire year.

He brought toys, video games, and presents galore;

With Blake Claus around, Christmas is never a bore.

Down the chimney he came,

Will he fit? If not it will be a shame,

Leaving presents for Conner, Holland, Rafe and Claire,

This giant of a man, he's as large as a bear.

So now I'm counting each day on my fingers and thumbs-

The weeks that must pass until Blake Claus comes (again).

Next Christmas, he'll bring joy and fun,

Let's hope he can still drive he's sleigh, despite being so rotund,

So we'll continue to wait, not minding the cold, though our fingers it numbs,

For it brings the time nearer when Blake Claus comes.

~~ Author Unknown

New Addition

This is the latest addition to the Shirley Family. Meet (?), well, it is not yet official, but we are leaning towards "Mischa." We thought about "Phydoux," but that is much too common. OK, I know I threatened all of you with disinheritance if you bought us a pet. It makes your Mom happy, so why not? She has a great disposition and seems easy enough to train. It is like having a little fur ball waddling around the house. She is a Golden Retriever and will end up being a little over 30-35 lbs. Prognosis? So far, so good.

Ho Ho Ho, From the Land of Snow

Notice our Christms "hangover," the only kind we have at our house. It snowed and the wind blew all night. Now that's a white Christmas.

The trees and shrubs by the sidewalk were nearly crushed by all the whie snow. I went out yesterday and knocked it all off, but after last night you couldn't tell I had done anything.

No, this is not a new kind of Idaho muhroom. It is really Jan's fountain birdbath dressed as a snow cone.

I was out shoveling the bridge when I heard a muffling sound. I turned around to see a hole had opened up and collapsed at the side of the bridge. It had blown over and I thought the canal was full, but there was this pocket below. You can see the edge of the bridge at the left of the hole.

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas. We were planning on playing bingo at Mom and Dad's, but I don't think we will be able to get there in all this snow. Eric Sutton scraped us out but it is filling back in, so who knows?

Merry Christmas

Happier Daze. . .

Last October after Grandpa's funeral, we caught Rafey trying to see things from a dog's perspective. I'm amazed I didn't break down sobbing when I came across these pictures. Anyway, very cute pictures Dad took. Here we are at the holidays already, time has flown.

We miss our Cashie. I feel like now we really are empty nesters. It's so hard to come home and not see him come bounding out and start chasing something invisible in the back yard. Okay the tears are starting, I'll stop.

We have already attended 2 Christmas parties and dad has another one tomorrow with his faculty. I think I will have a staff party and invite. . well, I guess just dad, me and the mop! How things have changed. I'm very introspective tonight for some reason. I was thinking as we went to see Becky Bochenek tonight that two years ago we gave their family $100 for Christmas, anonymously of course, and now I feel we are on the opposite side of the spectrum. I wouldn't mind having many people giving us $100's and perhaps some $20's just for fun.

I love all of your blogs and so enjoy the pictures. We will probably be alone this Christmas. Jason & Sara will be here of course, but with a brand new baby, it will be hit and miss if they can come. So we'll be left alone with Grandpa K. There still is Christmas night Bingo though, so we can look forward to that. I love Holland's new glasses and I love Granty singing Beautiful Day. Why can't we be like the Green's and all live within 100 yards of each other? That would be awesome, I think. . .

Dad & Neal were the program for the Wilford Ward Party last Friday. There was a big crowd that just laughed themselves sick at dad so, you know how he reacted. He just got funnier and funnier and Neal got laughing so hard that he couldn't remember the songs they practiced. This older lady sitting behind Cath & I was just whooping it up, loudly and the tears were just running down her face. Dad was at his best!

We have our ward Christmas party this Friday and I'm sure you guys are all in the middle of parties of your own. Spoke with Jeff this evening and they listed their condo on Friday and are starting to look actively for a home. We wish them luck! Brandon just has 1 more week of school then finals, hooray! We can't wait til they come up in January. I don't know anyone else's news, other than Holland is making great strides on potty training. However not on the day that Jenna called me last, it turned out to be a poop fest that went terribly wrong. Good luck guys.

So that is about all. The weather is crappy in that we have no snow and it's colder than shiz so it's hard to get in the holiday spirit. Brandon did say they had some snow though. So everyone keep posting lovely pictures for this lonely grandma and if you see a strange dog that looks intelligent and just like Cashie bones, let me know! We love you all!!! Ma & Pa Shirley

What Do You Say to a Hero?

During Veteran's Day, much was said at our elementary school about honoring the heroes who made our quality of life better. No only was Dad a hero in the literal sense of fighting for our country, but he also proved to qualify as an everyday hero, even right up to the end. This short video shows some of the last pictures and videos I took of Dad during the last year of his life. It includes several visits to the hospital as well as when he fell. I hope you get a feel for his fighting spirit, even when the going was rough. As he often said, "Getting old is not for sissies." And so, what do you say to a hero? Thank you.

NEW BLOG!!

Hey everyone I created a new blog. All of you can check it out at your own pleasure. It's probably not going to be the most exciting blog you will ever visit, but I am more doing it for myself than anything. I will be posting on it daily so for any of you that are looking for any kind of boost or if you are just curious to see how I am doing. Feel free to check it out. Love you all www.actionality.blogspot.com I need all of you to comment every now and then to keep me goin! Thanks

Making Scents With Cash

In August of last year Cash and I took a trip up the mountain like we have many times, in fact, we used to put a rock in a pile when we got to the top. The last time we counted, which was about five years ago, there were over 130 rocks in the pile.

He was always anxious to go and would howl as I was putting on my shoes. He often chased deer, but when there was a storm in the distance with lightning and thunder, he would shake and walk right in front of me. He would tremble and hide behind the computer desk, unplugging things and causing problems until the storm was gone.

His favorite place to sleep in the summer was under our bedroom window. The last time Rafe was here he went under there with Cash. It was hilarious.

How do you get so attached to someone with such a questionable past? Perhaps it is because he loved us without reservation and was quick to forgive. Just pick a branch and a twig and throw it and the game of keep-awway was on.

Loyalty? Yes. Trustworthy? Well, it depends. Let's stick with loyal. Helpful, friendly, courteous? I give him passing marks.

They say if you treat your dog like a human, they will treat you like a dog. Perhaps. Let's just say that he more than earned his keep over the past 13 years. Cash, well done. We would all do well to match your willing acceptance of all with whom we come in contact. Thanks for being a friend when friends were scarce. Thanks for aways being willing to go anywhere with me, for barging into the bathroom when I was taking a bath to check on me, and thanks for making life so interesting. Till we meet again...

Cash, my (our) best friend

As Cash may be nearing the end of his days, I thought I'd post some of my favorite memories with him. This is not meant to be funny or hurtful, it's so all of us can celebrate his life. He was a great dog, companion, and friend to all of us. Share some of your favorite memories of our beloved Cash.

Name a more comfortable bed for any dog you've ever met...

Cash knew when it was time to head to bed...

Cash was always great to take to Cress Creek, where he indulged himself in the cold water...

Hopefully no one was drinking downstream...

It was fun to look out and see him waiting to come inside...

Jenna bought that towel for Mom, it's saying could not have been more true...

Cash and Mom shared a special relationship, as she protected him from my taunts...

He loved eating hot dogs, hamburgers, steak, beggin' strips, meaty bones, and any other delicatessen...

Dad was always good to play with him outside...

Once he could catch him, they shared a moment together...

He had some great hops in his younger days, just like Obama...

I always enjoyed seeing the smile on his face, as I'd yell, "HEYYYY... CASH!"

He never really enjoyed getting his picture taken, however...

The grandkids loved petting him and being around him, he was very patient and loving with them...

Whenever there was work to be done outside, he always there to help...

I'd always try to get him to jump up and put his paws on my legs, much to Mom's dismay...

He was absolutely terrified anytime there was wind blowing, and that's an understatement...

Ash and I will miss going on hikes with him, watching him swim in the river, seeing his smiling face as soon as we drove up to visit, yelling at him to get out of the pictures, having to retake pictures because he wouldn't leave our side, feeding him hot dogs, teasing him, saying "HEYYY...CAYSH!", throwing food up in the air and having him catch it, watching him follow me around the house when it was windy outside (even when I was sitting on the toilet), how he kept my feet warm in the winter when he huddled under the computer desk because he was scared, and just the fact that he's been with us for nearly 14 years. Thanks, Cash, for all the memories. Someday, I'll be there to torment you and Cassie again. You'll probably team up with Cassie to return the favor in my dreams.

Who do you have for Christmas?

Rafe picked names this year since we were lacking consensus on the particulars of all going in on something. This is the results. If you have any problems or concerns call Rafe for clarification. Jenna has Brandon Jeff has Jason Brett has Jenna Brandon has Brett Jason has Jeff

Christmas Gifts

I propose that instead of drawing names and buying individual gifts, we pool that money and buy one big gift for one of our family siblings. I have myriad reasons for this proposition but tell me you opinions.

Fall in Utah

We took a drive up the Alpine Loop a few weeks ago to see the fall colors...

We saw a beautiful array of yellows, oranges, and reds... We also brought food (Subway) to have a picnic as well...

Then went for a small (very small) hike along a creek...

Until Ash got scared of the gunshots we heard in the distance...

Overall, it was a very enjoyable day... Although I would have been happier on the couch watching football.

Funeral Program

For family and friends who were not able to attend the funeral, here is the funeral program. Some expressed concern that it was slightly raining that day. Dad would have said, "Don't worry about it, we need the rain. If that's what it takes to make it rain, so be it."

For me, the greatest tribute to Papasahn was the singing by the Grandchildren and Great Grandchildren. The feeling was so strong that I felt like I would melt. Seeing the little children singing the familiar words they all knew by heart and knowing they had been taught by parents influenced by a loving Grandfather gave me great comfort. Seeing the loving tears shed by heart-broken grandchildren assured me that Grandpa's legacy will live on. "Well done, thou good and faithful servant, well done."

Grandpa's Funeral History

Dad was one who took on the impossible and kept with it until he found a way to get it done. The term, “Slowly, but Shirley,” seems to describe his “can do” attitude. The following words are Dad’s own. They were collected by tape recorder and transcribed: When the church was sending settling parties up to Bear Lake my parents went with them in the late 1800's, after they were there for awhile, my father met Sarah, got married in the temple and in the early 1900's, a lot of people from that area were moving to the Upper Snake River Valley, being settled by Thomas E. Ricks. My parents moved to the Salem area from Bear Lake at the end of the 1800's, about 1901 or 1902. They moved here in a wagon. My dad was a musician and was very popular around Bear Lake. He could play the organ and was a member of the brass band. My parents and Af Hansen and his wife, who was a sister to my mother, gathered what few belongings they had and moved in a wagon to Rexburg. They looked around and each bought small farms just north of Rexburg. Each bought about 60 acres side by side. Not long after they got to Salem, a new church was built in 1905, and my father was a councilor in one of the first bishoprics. Mother saw to it that all us kids got to church each Sunday, inasmuch as Dad was in the bishopric. The house we lived in was about a good 2-3 miles from the church house. They then decided to buy a small lot up in Salem and built a house so he could be a little closer to the church. That meant that in order to run the farm, during the winter he would move the family closer to the church, then have them help on the farm in the summer. My Dad died when I was about 12. We were down on the farm punching or stacking hay and a neighbor came up and informed us that Dad had died. He was down working in Ogden for Gus Brown and got appendicitis, they ruptured and had died. So there was a whole bunch of kids and no dad and no income, so we had slim pickings for awhile. We just barely survived. We had a herd of cows and mother saw to it that we had a garden, and that is how we survived. It was either root-hog or die. We had cream, butter, chickens, and Dad had planted a big orchard when they first got there, about a full acre, so at least we had apples. I was number 8 of the 11 children. I was born in 1912. We all lived in this little house. When the years went by and we all sat down at the table, by the time the older ones started getting married the house was pretty well full. Siblings included Fred, Myrtle, Leo, Les, Sarah, Jeanette, Bonnie, Hazel, Rod and Ada. The house we lived in was at first a small one-room house with a good pitch on the roof, but before long they added a lot more children. When they got through there were 11 children. They added onto the house a couple of times. In those days insulation was unheard of. All they had was boards on the outside and plaster on the inside and no insulation. Houses were pretty cold.. My elementary years were a real chore. I=d get up in the morning, milk cows, go to school, and then come home and milk cows again. I=d never get done. Whenever they would send assignments home, I never had time for that. I did chores until late every night. I=d sit in school and hope they didn't call on me. I didn't enjoy grade school too much. When I was about a freshman in high school I had to drop out. Since Dad died when I was twelve years old, I was the designated farm boy My birthday was on June 25, 1912. It was on my birthday, Floyd Mortensen, a neighbor kid and I born on the same day, so his dad, Peter Mortensen took us out in the irrigation canal down by Mother=s place where the water was about four feet deep, at least the ditch was full, and baptized us in late June. We were 12 years old and hadn't been baptized, so they arranged for him to baptize us. That was just before my dad passed away. He was away working in Ogden, that=s why Pete baptized us. I was baptized in the canal by the bridge on the northeast corner of our lot. I remember the water was really cold. It was not very ceremoniously done. We put on some overalls, went out and got baptized. It was soon after that I was made a deacon. When I got into high school I did better than grade school. I was student body president at Sugar-Salem. I was captain of the football team and co-captain of the basketball team. I also ran track, so I had a lot of fun in high school. I had to drop out of high school for about two years and work on the farm. Sometimes I would drop out for only a quarter or so. My biggest problem growing up was trying to find something to eat. It was right in the height of the depression. My senior year, when I was student body president, they used to charge all the kids so much for a yearbook. It only amounted to a few dollars. They put the money in the bank, in the stone building across from the high school. One day the bank went broke. They wouldn't even let us in. They shut the doors and you couldn't even get in to talk to them. That was the year I was a senior. It was along in the winter time and we were just ordering the yearbooks and we didn't have any money. The bank had it all. Money was scarce. It was about 1932. I was a senior, student body president, doing well in athletics, and we didn't even have a yearbook. I hardly have anything from my high school days. I dated a little in high school, nothing serious. Athletics were my favorite things to do. The main things I was interested in were football, basketball and track. When I went to Ricks it was the same thing. It was said in my Ricks yearbook that, "Ross Shirley likes going to college, no he enjoys going to college because he likes athletics so much." It indicated that I didn't like college as much as I liked playing around. I used to play end when I was in high school. When I went to Ricks, the word got out that they were going to go to Hawaii. Kids from all up and down the valley came to try out. So, we=d go out for scrimmage every night after school, they started me out on about the second or third team out of about four. Packer, (the coach) asked me what I thought about being running guard. I told him I would play anywhere in order to get to play. The coach said he wanted to start me as guard. I thought, Wow. After that I started playing with the A team. The following week we went to play Montana and I got to play about half of that game. I weighed about 175 lbs. Most of the guys I played against weighed well over 200 lbs. We won the championship that year, so we went to Hawaii, because they would play whoever was champion. We went to church in the old Salem Church house. Just before meetings would start the deacons would take turns going over to Bell's, where Verne Davidson used to live to get some water, because there was no running water in the old stone church. We'd go over with a bucket of water and take it back over to the church house. They had an old hand pump outside their house. There was no water at all in the church. We=d carry it back over to the church in a bucket. Someone got lazy and didn't want to go over to Bell's to get some water, so they reached down and dipped a bucket full of water out of the ditch that ran in front of the church. When they got inside there was either a little toady frog or a water skipper or something alive inside the bucket. So they flipped it off the top and nobody knew the difference until word got around that the kids had been getting the water out of the ditch. Then they really tightened down on everybody. They didn't want them getting any water out of the ditch. Well, along with all the germs people used to pass along to each other, there might as well have been a water skipper. When I got out of college I got a job teaching school up in Teton Basin in a coal mine. About fifty miners or so lived in a little town west of Driggs up in the mountains and all their families lived with them. One year the teacher they had quit and about that time I was finishing up at Ricks. Then President Manwaring got a hold of me and wanted to know if I wanted a job teaching school. He said they needed a teacher up in Driggs now. I asked him how much it paid and it was about $60.00 a month. I said I wasn't so sure about that. That was an awful place up there to spend the rest of the winter. He said jobs were scarce unless you had experience. If I were to go up there, it would help me get a job the following year. So I went up there and taught six classes. There were about eight to ten students from the first grade to about the eighth grade, with about two in each class. I had about one first grader, then a couple of fourth graders, two seventh graders, and some eighth graders. We would rotate classes and I would make assignments. I got much more educated than the kids did. Because I had a job I became the family mission supporter. I later got a job teaching in Sugar, and Sally had a job teaching also. So, Bishop Archibald said we should send Leslie on a mission and Sally and I would support him. We kept him out on his mission. About the time he got back they said it was time to send Rodney. So they sent Rod to England and we kept him out. People kept asking me why I didn't get married. How in the world could I afford to get married when I was only making about $700.00 a year and trying to make a living and sending brothers on missions. I did well to keep my nose above water. I taught from 1935 to 1940. During the time I was teaching I was living at home. I was serving as Elders= Quorum president. Shortly after that word got out that there were jobs available at Lockheed paying about twice what I was making teaching school. I asked myself why do I stay around here doing this when I could go to California and get paid better for something I liked doing better. So I did some letter writing to check on things, then I jumped in my car, went to California and got a job building P-38 airplanes until Pearl Harbor was bombed. Then I enlisted. My testimony just kind of came gradually. I wasn't sure I had one for a long time. One time when we were overseas a bunch of us were standing around aboard ship talking and something was said about Utah. Someone said, "That's where the Mormons come from." So they cussed and discussed the Mormons. I listened to that for awhile and then I said, "You know, you guys wouldn't know a Mormon if you saw one." "Well now, I guess you're going to tell us that you're a Mormon." I said, "You got that right." "Oh, don't give us that bull, you're an ordinary fella, good soldier and all that, and now you're going to tell us you're a Mormon." "That's right, the trouble with you guys is you don't even know what one looks like." One guy said, "You can't be a Mormon, they have a dozen wives and you haven't even got one." I said, "Oh well, the big boys got em all." They just walked away shaking their heads, not knowing whether to believe me or not. They thought Mormons wore bib overalls, long whiskers and had horns on their heads, a dozen wives, and they believed all that stuff. All the G.I.'s were issued cigarettes and beer while on board ship. I had a room all to myself, so I would just take them and put them in my locker. Some of the guys used to complain that those of us who didn't smoke and drink shouldn't get an issue. I just said it was up to me to do with it what I wanted. Soon I had a locker full, on the shelf, and on top, beer and cigarettes everywhere. Our ship used to make a run from the Phillippines down to New Guinea. We got down there in the harbor on anchor and some Navy boys came over wanting beer and cigarettes. They said they would give a dollar for each bottle of beer and ten bucks for each carton of cigarettes. "You got a deal." All the guys who didn't have anything were standing around with their eyes bugging out thinking about all the money I made. Some of the guys quit smoking and drinking so they could make money like I was. Then I would give them a bad time. "How come you guys aren't smoking and drinking?" "At that price, do you think I'm just going to burn them up?" We saved them, because in some isolated places they brought even more money than that. I never had any problem with the Word of Wisdom. I had only one date with Marge before I went off to the war. Sally set us up on the date. I went overseas and then when I got back I started dating her again and we got married. The Logan temple was closer to where she lived, so we went down there one day. We got Mina and Marge and I and one of Mina's relatives went with us. I'd never been through the temple before so I had a lot to learn. We were married in the Logan Temple by Elray L. Christiansen. He gave us a few pointers about marriage, then got us up to the alter and got us married. In 1980 I received a letter calling me to work in the Idaho Falls Temple. Then they assigned me to go on as a full time ordinance worker. Counting initiatory work, I have been working at the temple about 22 years. One of the last times I officiated, Scott and Jeff came down and went through a session. I was able to take Jeff through the last part. Working in the temple was my favorite job by far. Defining Moments: In each person’s life there are extraordinary things they naturally do under difficult circumstances that teach volumes to those around them. To them it may seem common sense, but to those watching, nothing but miraculous. To Dad, nothing was impossible. It was just a matter of figuring it out. The more someone tells him it cannot be done, the more he will focus until it is completed. Untangling the cable from around the propeller on their ship in the South Pacific. Cleaning up after the flood. Finding a victim of the Teton Dam flood in the garden and tenderly washing his face. Pouring concrete. Building and remodeling houses. Singing in a musical production. Learning the words to the temple ordinances. Building a fish smoker out of an old refrigerator. Volunteering to help on the church farm. Taking the scouts camping, even when he was not a called scout leader. Paying the cost to send brothers, sons, grandsons and even members of his ward on missions. Boxing with anyone on board ship who wanted to put the gloves on with him. Raising parrots. Raising bear cubs. Raising a Basset Hound, John Boy,

Trying to run off stray dogs while Janet was secretly feeding them. Winning target shooting trophies, even at an advanced age.

Shooting a can, making it pop up into the air and then shooting it out of the air. Playing marbles with his elementary students at recess, then letting them win back their marbles the next day. Ignoring the noise from our rock and roll band playing upstairs. Letting the boys overhaul the old bailer engine and smiling when it finally started. Encouraging us to play musical instruments. Watching us play athletics. Taking us to church with him. Teaching us lessons in church. Cleaning his rifles and not letting us walk in front of the barrel, even with parts lying everywhere. Playing football on a Ricks College championship team that went to Hawaii to play. Surviving the loss of his father at age 12. Dropping in and out of high school several times while trying to help support his family. Enjoying family reunions and listening to the kids sing and play guitar. Telling Mom, after 61 years of marriage, that he loved every minute of it. Telling his children and grandchildren that he loved them. Living with two partial dental plates most of his life. Losing part of an ear to skin cancer. Surviving the poverty of the depression. Surviving yet another economic depression. Dealing with broken ribs. Surviving stomach ulcers and losing two-thirds of his stomach. Surviving prostate cancer. Surviving multiple cases of pneumonia. Surviving two complete hip replacements. Surviving the loss of one eardrum and little hearing in the other. Surviving multiple nose-bleeds and having his nose cauterized many times. Surviving a massive heart attack at the age of 95. Getting old is not for sissies. “Scrud, what’s so hard about that? There’s lots of wrong ways and one right way, let’s find the right way and get it done.” Thoughts on Death and the Next Life Collected by Scott Shirley and given at the funeral of Dorothy Kinghorn As more than an animal you have the right to know about life after death. In the January, 1977 Ensign, we read: “...the Prophet Joseph Smith declared that the Saints should study the purpose of life and death, in fact should study it "more than any other" subject--"study it day and night." He observed that "if we have any claim on our Heavenly Father for anything, it is for knowledge on this important subject." (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 324; italics added.) Dale C. Mouritzen wrote, “We have a right, then, to understand the true nature of our existence. We also have a responsibility to search it out, for the more aware we become that the spirit world is a real extension of our mortal existence, the less likely we are to fasten our hearts on the treasures of this world.” Brigham Young said that it is natural to be there in the Spirit World. He said: “When you are in the spirit world, everything there will appear as natural as things now do. Spirits will be familiar with spirits in the spirit world--will converse, behold, and exercise every variety of communication with one another as familiarly and naturally as while here in tabernacles. There, as here, all things will be natural, and you will understand them as you now understand natural things.” I testify from personal experience that the transition is natural, just as if going from one room to another. The fact our physical bodies deteriorate and become old is evidence that the Lord does not intend to leave us here forever. He intends to come and pick us up after school is over. As I watched Grandpa suffer, I thought of the words of Brigham Young: “I can say with regard to parting with our friends, and going ourselves, that I have been near enough to understand eternity so that I have had to exercise a great deal more faith to desire to live than I ever exercised in my whole life to live. The brightness and glory of the next apartment is inexpressible. It is not encumbered so that when we advance in years we have to be stubbing along and be careful lest we fall down. We see our youth, even, frequently stubbing their toes and falling down. But yonder, how different! They move with ease and like lightning.” I know from personal experience that spirits are aware of those still here in mortality. Brigham Young said, “They can see us, but we cannot see them unless our eyes were opened.” To those who saw Grandpa deteriorate day by day, these further words of Brigham Young bring quiet comfort: “...if we could see things as they are, and as we shall see and understand them, this dark shadow and valley is so trifling that we shall turn round and look about upon it and think, when we have crossed it, why this is the greatest advantage of my whole existence, for I have passed from a state of sorrow, grief, mourning, woe, misery, pain, anguish and disappointment into a state of existence, where I can enjoy life to the fullest extent as far as that can be done without a body. My spirit is set free, I thirst no more, I want to sleep no more, I hunger no more, I tire no more, I run, I walk, I labor, I go, I come, I do this, I do that, whatever is required of me, nothing like pain or weariness, I am full of life, full of vigor, and I enjoy the presence of my heavenly Father, by the power of his Spirit. I want to say to my friends, if you will live your religion, live so as to be full of the faith of God, that the light of eternity will shine upon you, you can see and understand these things for yourselves” (DNSW, 28 July 1874, 1).

Farewell, Grandpa

Grandpa, Grandma and I - Circa 2006

It was a tough week for all of us who knew, loved, and cherished our beloved Grandfather, Ross Shirley. He truly was one of my heroes, and I'll always remember the experiences I had with him. Back in December, I wrote him the following letter, hoping I could somehow relay to him all the thoughts that were in my heart at the time. Fortunately, he recovered and I was able to see him a few more times before he passed. Words could not express all that he's done for me in my life, but I hope this letter will help you to know about some of the things I was fortunate enough to tell him before he left us. Here is that letter that I had Dad read to Grandpa back in December.

December 2, 2007 Hi Grandpa! How’s it going? I hope you’re feeling o.k., but I can’t imagine what it must be like for you right now. I’m sure you’ve definitely felt better. It was great to talk to you tonight, I wish I could be there to help you out during this time of your life. I wish I could express in words everything that I’m feeling right now, but I doubt I will be able to properly express the gratitude I have for all you’ve done for me. I’m writing this letter to let you know how much you mean to me and how appreciative I am of all you have done to help me in my life. I’ll always remember your example and how selfless you were in your life. Your are the epitome of a selfless person, and I have always admired how it was so easy for you to put others ahead of yourself. My dad has told me countless stories of how you helped put your siblings on missions and how you never seemed to complain about anything. I wish I could properly express how great of an example you have been to each of us grandkids. I don’t know if you’ll fully realize the magnitude of influence you’ve had on our family. I will always remember the times I was able to come up to your house and spend time with you and Grandma. It was always great to hear all the great stories you told us, and it always seemed like you had a funny story to go with any situation. I liked the time you told me about all the money you made of selling cigarettes when you were serving in the war. It helped me realize how much of an example you must have been, even to the people who didn’t know you very well. I don’t know if I ever thanked you properly for helping me pay for my second mission to Oklahoma. I remember asking my dad if I would be able to go, knowing that I didn’t have much money to pay for it. He told me not to worry at all, the money would be there, and somehow we would have enough each month. I later learned that you contributed quite a bit to help me stay out there, for this I’m eternally grateful. At this time of your life there are probably a bunch of emotions going through your head and I can’t imagine how it must feel. You might be feeling some sadness, knowing you might have to leave us, but at the some time, you might also be feeling proud for all the things you’ve accomplished in your life. I hope this is the way you’re feeling, because your life is nothing that you should be ashamed of . You are an incredible person and I hope to one day come close to accomplishing all the things that you have achieved during your life. I love you deeply Grandpa and hope you’re feeling peace during this difficult time. Just know that the Lord is with you at this time and he will not leave you alone, no matter what. I will miss you Grandpa, and will look forward to the day when we will meet again in the Celestial Kingdom, with the rest of our family. I wish I could be there to read this letter to you, but I hope you realize I will always be with you in spirit. Thank you again for all you’ve done for me in my life. I’m eternally grateful for you and hope your health problems will soon be an afterthought as you progress to the next challenge that awaits you. Farewell grandpa, we will meet again, and by that time I’ll have to catch you up on all the football, basketball, and any other sporting event that you may have missed. I love you Grandpa, and so does my wife Ashleigh, and will always love you, until we meet again. Sincerely, Jeff and Ashleigh

Graveside Services for our Grandpa

We missed you Brandon, Anna, Grant, Tara, Chas, and Katie!