Grandpa's Hats

Memories of our Grandpa that I got to share at his funeral...

While we were growing up we would often see our Grandpa wearing a hat. He would wear them to family outings, out in his garden, when he traveled, or even just sitting in his chair in the house. He was a man of many hats. He had a University of Utah Alumni hat, a Utah State Hat, and a Chiefs hat, just to name a few. But some of the hats my Grandpa wore are those that aren’t tangible, They are those that were only seen by those who knew him well. These are the hats that we most remember.

Our Grandpa wore the hat of service, in more ways than one. He wore this hat as he served as a soldier in World War 2, where he fought bravely. He wore this hat when he served 3 faithful missions, the first where he met his sweetheart, our Grandma, and the last two where they served side by side together. Our cousin Richard is actually serving right now in Riverside California, our Grandparent’s first mission as a couple. He shared an experience he had by saying: “The great and last experience I had with Grandpa Christensen was to be able to have him and Grandma Christensen escort me into the MTC. What a truly sweet experience that was for me. That was the last time I saw him, and so I’m grateful it was him who accompanied me. Since he had previously served one such Senior Couples Mission to the California Riverside Mission, in a very literal sense I have followed in his footsteps in proclaiming the gospel.” We are so grateful for our Grandpa’s example of service.

Our Grandpa also wore the hat of Hard work. He worked at the University of Utah for more than 20 years, but we didn’t know that Grandpa. We knew the Grandpa who stood on ladders even when he probably shouldn’t have, to change the lightbulbs, and the grandpa who always put the gas in the car. We knew the grandpa who carried the 50 lb. bag of salt down the stairs for the water softener for our Grandma. We knew the grandpa who tried to get us to eat all of the pears off his tree, and who would read us the same story until he had it memorized just because we wanted him to. This was the grandpa we knew....we’re grateful that hard work can be seen in more places than just an office building. Our grandpa exemplified this.

Our Grandpa wore the hat of Good Cheer. A few years ago one of our cousins got a bunch of stickers for Christmas. She decided the perfect place for them was all over Grandpa’s slippers. He thought that was the perfect place for them too, and he wore those slippers proudly for years, until only a few stickers remained. Grandpa had a way of making us feel needed. Whenever I’d come for a visit the first thing out of his mouth would be, “I’m so glad you came, to brighten up our lives!” And there wasn’t a day we were around him that we didn’t hear him say “Fa'afetai, which means Thank you in Samoan. “Our cousin Richard wrote of him, “He was always calm and sober in his demeanor, but also cheerful. The two together were a great combination. Never too serious and always lighthearted; but never light minded.” This described our grandpa perfectly.

Our Grandpa wore the hat of music. This was a very big part of his life. It was very common to have our Grandpa randomly begin singing “It’s Springtime in the Rockies,”The Old Gray Mule Ain't What She Used to be", or different Samoan songs. It didn’t matter who was over or what we were doing, if Grandpa felt like singing, he did it...even if Grandma was trying to watch T.V. ☺.

Our Grandpa wore the hat of Good Humor. A couple of years ago we were talking about our favorite animals, and when we started to ask my grandpa what his favorite animal was, we could barely get the words out when he said very excitedly COW! We got a kick out of that, so later on we bought him a round stuffed cow. We’re not sure what he really thought about the cow, but from then on he kept it by his side on the table next to his chair. Sometimes he would even sit his cow on his lap while he read the newspaper☺.

Our Grandpa wore the hat of Family Devotion as he and my Grandma traveled to visit their grandchildren who have lived in many places across the country. No distance was too great for them. There was never a place their grandchildren lived that they haven’t visited at least once.

Our Grandpa wore the hat of long suffering. I don’t think anybody wore this hat with as much grace as our Grandpa. He was the epitome of endurance. It was hard to watch as he suffered from the physical pains of mortality, but I never heard him utter a single complaint. He always talked of his afflictions with a wishful heart, but never a bitter tongue. As much as we miss him, we are grateful he’s free from his pains.

The last hat I want to mention is that our Grandpa wore the hat of righteousness. A couple of days ago my Grandma mentioned that as someone passes on it’s comforting to know that they led a righteous life. This is how we feel about our Grandpa. I just want to read one last quote that my Cousin Richard shared. He said, “I have the great blessing and honor of bearing (my Grandpa’s) first name as my own, and to stand to the world as an example of it. If I could do one thing for him, it would be to live up to the worthiness of that name, and always do so throughout my life. No doubt one day I will stand before him, and he will ask me what I’ve done with his good name. He has been an example at all times for one to exercise conduct worthy of a priesthood holder, a missionary, a father, a grandfather, and a disciple of Jesus Christ.”

We’re so grateful that our Grandpa chose to lead such a righteous life, and we look forward to the day when we can once again be with him.