Memories of Grandpa Wallace Tracy
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| This was taken as part of an article written about him in the | Ruralite. |
The first memory that comes to mind
when I think of my grandfather is seeing him astride his trusty 4-wheeler,
puttin’ all over the farm to do this or that.
He always had something to do, and he loaded that 4-wheeler with
everything he could possibly need to do a job.
He had almost every tool imaginable strapped to the front and back racks
of the 4-wheeler, including his gloves, irrigation boots and a shovel. Riding with Grandpa usually meant sitting on
the mud flaps in the back, unless you were small enough to fit on the very
front next to the gas cap.
I also have
memories of helping Grandpa in his garden.
He loved working in his garden, and he had a way of roping me in to help
him. I was never allowed to do anything
fun like work with the shovel and hoe.
He had a bad back that made bending over difficult for him. So, he’d make a hole and wait for me to plant
the potato eyes, and then he’d cover it up and we’d start the whole process
over and over again. That wasn’t my
favorite thing to do, but I loved visiting his garden during harvest time. I’d eat more berries than I had in my
bucket. He grew the most delicious
raspberries and strawberries, and the peas were wonderfully sweet too. There always seemed to be a ton of carrots
and potatoes for the cellars as well.
I remember
that Grandpa liked a good joke and he liked scaring people. His smile would cover his whole face. He was always good to play along with us
girls in our juvenile efforts to prank.
Bonita and I would be visiting Grandma, and then when Grandpa would come
in the house for his afternoon nap, Grandma would hide our coats and we’d
crouch behind his recliner. Grandpa
would always sit on the stool next to the fireplace to take off his boots and such,
and as soon as he sat down, we’d jump out from our hiding place to scare
him. Regardless of how many times we’d
do that, he’d always act like we’d given him the scare of his life and we
thought we were so sneaky.
Grandpa
didn’t sit around and watch television a lot, but there were two shows he
seemed to watch faithfully in the evenings:
Hee-Haw and Wheel of Fortune. I’d
snuggle next to him in his recliner while we’d watch, and I was always
impressed at how quickly he could solve the word puzzles on Wheel of
Fortune. Sometimes Bonita and I would
play with Grandpa’s hair while we watched TV together. He had long white hair that he would comb
over from one side of his head to another, and Bonita and I thought it great
fun to wet his wire comb and style this comb-over in all directions. This used to really upset Grandma (which made
it even more fun to do), but Grandpa would just sit there and smile while we
played hairdresser.
I don’t
remember Grandpa missing a week of church while I was growing up. We sat towards the front and He was always
very attentive during the meetings. He
would help me follow along in the hymnbook while we sang. I also remember the
hearing aid he’d use to listen to the meetings.
I was always intrigued by it, and sometimes I’d play with the control
knobs on the little box that was attached to his earpiece – oops! He never
scolded me harshly, however, even though I probably sent a large screeching
through his ears at times. My sweet tooth
loved his suit coat pockets as well. If
I searched hard enough I could usually find a piece of candy. He was the first
person I’d rush to after the block of meetings – I just knew I was going to
starve to death before we’d made the 14-mile trip home. I was rarely
disappointed when I’d wrap my arms around his waist and immediately sneak my hands into his jacket pockets to see what I could find.
When I got
too big to sit next to Grandpa in his chair, I opted to sit on his lap
instead. It never dawned on me that I
was too big for that, as Grandpa never said a word to me about it. He’d just let me curl up and enjoy being
close to him. On my thirteenth birthday
(Christmas of 1993) he and Grandma came over to the house just as they always
did, and we enjoyed the holiday together.
I think that is also the year all of us girls took pictures with
him. Me and my bony butt took customary
residency on his lap for a while that day too, and nothing was out of the
ordinary except for the fact that he when we offered to let him stay at our house for his afternoon nap, he actually took us up on the offer that year. Later I would find out that he was in immense
pain at that time due to being in the last stages of bone marrow cancer, but he
never once complained about it, or even asked me to get off of his lap. We were (or at least I was) completely
oblivious to what he was going through.
It was just
weeks after that Christmas that he was hospitalized.
When he finally went to the doctor it was on a stretcher in the back of
Bishop Anderson’s suburban. Dallen Ward
and Bishop Anderson drove him to Burley, ID.
I remember it very clearly because I got to ride in the back and keep
him company for the long drive. It was a cold January day and I can still
remember looking out the window and describing to him how pretty and white the
world was. He could not talk then, but
he listened to me with a smile as I rattled on and on all the way there.
Sometimes he’d respond by squeezing my hand, and that made me feel very special
and loved. That was the last time that I
saw him. Mom and my sisters went and
visited him in the hospital later, but Mom felt like I was too young to
go. I’m grateful now that my last memory
of him was a positive one, when he was coherent and happy - still the Grandpa I
knew and loved.
I know that
Grandpa hasn’t stopped much since crossing the veil. I’m sure he’s still very
busy, and it’s comforting for me to know that he’s doing it without having to
deal with the limitations of his mortal body.
I miss him dearly & look forward to seeing him again.
Christy Tracy Williamson, Granddaughter
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