My name is Adam Laurence Myhr. My mother is Laurie Nelson and her father is Laurence Miskowic. I have been asked to represent the family in sharing a few words today.
In my formative Junior and Senior High years I remember watching a show on television called Wonder Years. It followed a boy growing through those same ages and grades as I was, but offset two decades in the past. This show and others like it gave me a picture of a Dad in the 60's and 70's. They built a picture of a disconnected father. One who goes to work, does his job, comes home, eats the dinner prepared for him, and then goes in the other room to watch TV and read until bedtime. This stereotypical Dad portrayed did not spend a very large amount of time with his children. He was the provider for the family and that was the only role he took. That picture was all I had of fathers from those years. It served Hollywood well and was something I never really questioned, or had reason to.
Then I started to talk to the family about Grandpa. The stereotypical dad of a bygone era quickly faded and was replaced by a father who was more involved with his family than many today. I have some of my own memories of course. While I have very little recollection of my earlier childhood I do have some memories of holidays. We would always get Grandpa something to do with golf, and he would always be happy with the gifts he received. At those gatherings Grandpa was the one in charge of cutting the meat for our meal, and he was the one at the head of the big table.
Sports and activities were a big part of his life. In speaking with people almost everyone has a memory that involves sports and activities. I heard about a dad that was interested and involved with his children. He would attend their school events, supporting them in their pursuit of activities. It didn't stop with his kids graduating though.
As there started to be grandchildren in the picture he would go to watch them in their activities as well. Even in the last couple of years he would catch portions of tennis and hockey matches when they were close to home. When it came to the grandkids there was no need for a school activity for there to be a sports connection. My older brother, one of the last people I would think of to have a sports related memory, remembers playing basketball with Grandpa. More specifically he remembers how much better he was when Grandpa would play due to being lifted up to the rim so he could make a basket.
Outside of the school setting sports were still central. Much to my surprise one of the girls recounted how when she was young she hated that they had to watch football every Sunday. It was made even worse by the fact that there was only one TV in the house which left little choice for any alternatives. She then mentioned that as she got older something changed. She started to look forward to Sunday's when the family would gather and watch football together. This tradition of the family watching sports together was not one that faded after the kids moved out either. By the time everyone had grown up and moved out there were already grandchildren coming back with the kids for the holidays. What was in the background of every gathering in that Coon Rapids townhome? Golf and football. For those of us grandkids that were more into video games then Olympic games? Football on the Nintendo in the basement. I never went golfing with Grandpa, saw him go, or knew when he was going, but to this day when I think of Grandpa I also think of golf, and when I see or think of golf I think of Grandpa.
While Grandpa loved watching Golf and Football that was not the important part of these gatherings. The important part was the gathering itself. He loved to be surrounded by his children, grandchildren, and more recently great-grandchildren. More so than the enjoyment of sports was the way everyone in the family mentioned his love for the family. He was known for telling Grandma that they have good kids and they did good. The truth in this statement could not be argued when one saw the way his face lit up and his eyes twinkled around the kids. As grandkids we never realized how much he loved us. How many of you other grandkids knew that our aunts and uncles weren't allowed to have the blue freeze pops because they were the ones we liked best?
This love of family could be seen not only in the special moments, such as walking one of the girls down the aisle on her wedding day, but also in a moment as simple as meeting for lunch. His joy of being with the family extended from splashing in puddles with his young girls to dancing with them at wedding receptions. He would treat the family to gifts for no reason other than he loved them, even if it was simple chocolate. As the kids got older they would repay him with what he loved, taking him to the Vikings, going golfing with him, and most importantly - spending the holidays together watching golf and football. This is a tradition that has been kept going by the children as much as possible and the twinkle in Grandpas eye every time we all started to show up was proof that he loved every minute. These last few months Heather and I had the opportunity to hang out with Grandpa with our son Gideon along and I swear he lost 20 years of age when he got to hold the little guy.
The love had many moments of fun joy like that. Even in the seriousness of a game of golf one of the boys remembers seeing his dads sense of humor shine through. As Grandpa was about to tee off on one of the holes a plan was put into action. While he was distracted someone swapped his golf ball with a trick ball. As he got back to the game and swung at the ball a perfect wind managed to blow the resulting powdery explosion all over him much to the amusement off everyone there. Another sure sign of his good humor was the way he would laugh at all kinds of jokes, and especially fun jabs at his Polish heritage.
It seems to me that the legacy Grandpa has here is one of love and family, nothing like the stereotypical dad of a bygone era shown on TV. While he is no longer here with us the memories we have of him and the love we have for each other will serve as a testament to the wonderful great-grandpa, grandpa, dad, and husband he was.