Today marks thirteen years since my father, Lyman Conrad Gabrielsen, Jr. passed away. I miss him. We all miss him.
He was a medical doctor and loved by his patients. But I think his greatest legacy is the love his family and grandchildren have for him. He was an absolute wizard with children. He could get them to do things without force or coercion, and they would usually giggle while they did it.
Even very young children sensed his love for them and responded to it. One of my favorite stories is when Missy and her husband and one- year- old son moved in with Grandpa Gabe. They were fresh out of school and stayed with him for a short time while they started their job and found their own home. It didn't take their little boy long to become great buddies with Grandpa Gabe. Dad was always an early riser. Missy and her family slept downstairs. Little Jared would awaken early, climb out of bed, and swing the big door closed to where his parents were sleeping. He would then climb up the stairs, knowing he would find Grandpa Gabe waiting for him. Missy, hearing the door close, would get out of bed and get him his bottle. Little Jared would climb up in Grandpa's lap and they would have their special early morning time together and Grandpa would feed him his bottle. I just love that story- especially the part where he closed his parents' door.
Evidence of the love we have for him is found in the names of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, as so many are named after him. With the recent birth of our newest grandson, Gabe, I got thinking about that and wondered how many were named after him. I emailed my siblings and asked them who of their posterity were named after him. The results? If I counted right, sixteen of his posterity are named after him. That includes many forms of his last name: Gabe (which was actually more like a given name as it was the name people knew him by), Gabriel, Gabrielle, Gabriella,and Brielle. It also includes his given name- Lyman and his middle name, Conrad. And it includes those that named their sons Sam or Samuel. It was no secret that he loved that name. He would say, "Sam's a great name! It's a great phone name. Hello? Sam?" None of his children used that name for their children, but three of his grandchildren named a son Samuel- a nod to their Grandpa Gabe. It also includes one child named Logan, named after Grandpa Gabe's (and Grandma Gabe's) birthplace and hometown- Logan, Utah.
Grandchildren:
Rick Lyman
Wesley Conrad (who goes by Conrad)
Preston G. (the G. is for Gabrielsen)
Adam Conrad
Whitney Gabrielle
Great-grandchildren:
Samuel Gabe (both names after him)
Gabrielle Pamela
Anderson Conrad
Samuel Gregory
Gabriel Hansen
Benjamin Gabriel
Logan
Brielle Louise
Samuel Jared
Gabe Steven
Gabriella Michelle
And there may be more to come!
Grandpa Gabe passed away on October 19, 2003. On this thirteenth anniversary of his death, we, his posterity, remember him and honor him. And those with his name are especially striving to honor him with their own lives. Until we meet again, Grandpa Gabe! We love you!
4 comments:
You made my day! What a beautiful tribute. I had forgotten that today is the anniversary. We are so blessed by wonderful loving parents who had such a positive impact on their posterity. Awesome to see that influence reflected in their given names.
I love this!!! I didn't realize Missy named 3 of her kids after grandpa. Grandpa Gabe really is the best! I love and miss him!
Now I have tears! What a great tribute. I love and honor him too. I remember his magic trick of grinding up a coin and pulling it out of my ear. I also loved to get stuck in "The Machine" (his legs).
I was a very picky eater so I have a couple of memories of him making jokes about food come and generally trying to lighten the situation when I was refusing to eat. He would tell me things like "If you eat that corn than corn will grow out your ears!" Or "If you don't eat that alfredo sauce what is going to clog your arteries?!" It took me quite a while to figure out that clogged arteries weren't actually a good thing.😂
I didn't remember those food ones, but what a perfect example of how he would lighten the situation and get kids to do things. What kid isn't going to eat the corn just to see if corn does grow out his ears?
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