Grandpa Hardastle

My Grandpa Hardcastle passed away last night surrounded by his wife, his children, and a few of his grandchildren.

It happened rather quickly, which was probably a blessing. My grandma told the doctor, "We were married for 55 years, that's a long time. But not long enough."

Grandpa was a hard worker and obviously loved his family. When we were younger and would visit, my grandpa could often be seen playing Solitaire on the family room floor. I never understood how you could play a card game by yourself -and how you didn't cheat.

Another thing my grandma said last night at the hospital was, "He was a good man. He didn't say much, but he was a good man."

Justin and I had the pleasure of visiting my grandparents while they were serving a temple mission in London. We got to meet the man (one of many probably) who helped save my grandpa's life when he had a ruptured abdominal aneurysm. He never fully recovered, but continued to work and completed their mission. It was fun having dinner with just the two of them, doing s bit of sight seeing and working in the temple.

When I as at school at Utah State (the Agricultural School) my grandpa often asked me if I had milked any cows yet. I always told him no, but if they ever brought them on campus I'd give it a try. I remember him trying to get my younger sister to smell his feet, telling her they smelled like strawberries. I think she fell for it a couple of times too. He loved black licorice candy, told us that beef jerky would put hair on our chests, and his version of homemade pizza was saltine crackers and ketchup.

We love you grandpa.