November 11, 2002

My pop-pop was a man of few words. From time to time you could get him talking as long as it was something he was interested in. When it came to his bees and honey it was the best we ever knew. I tried many others several times but it just never could compare to what we knew. As for his garden it was the best around. Many summers we spent shelling lima beans, cutting corn, snapping beans and getting them ready to be frozen for the winter to come. I remember pop-pop’s vegetable stand that he had at the house along Rt. 519. There were many hot summer days we sat there helping to sell his vegetables and honey knowing people came from all around just to buy our pop-pop’s vegetables and oh so wonderful honey in jars of all sizes and even the kind still in the honey comb. Our nana would sit there with us all day long til sundown came and away things would go til the following day.

Oh what a stubborn man our pop-pop could be couldn’t leave the house to have some fun until Kelly or I would tell him he was going. It was rare he would give us a hard time and Mom and Aunt Kathy could just never understand why. As for holidays that was another real threat as for at the dinner table don’t dare talk or have any fun, for that was not allowed. But you see the older he got the more he would see that it wasn’t all that bad to smile and eat. There were all so many times you could tell he really wanted to smile but would he give in? Not even for a little smile or even for a little while.

My pop-pop at times was not always the nicest man but he was always a very hard worker and took pride in being an American. He came here from Germany with nothing but the shirt on his back and learned the language and never looked back. I can remember all so many times we would ask him to teach us German, but he would not for the simple fact that he was now an American and for that you speak English and for that I am very proud of him. He had a good job and worked so hard and taught us more then he will ever know. For this you will be missed.

Written By:
Domenica Troxell Rothrock

MY GRANDFATHER WAS A MAN OF FEW WORDS, HE KEPT HIS THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS INSIDE AND SOMETIMES HE WOULD BLOW LIKE A VOLCANO.

I TALKED TO PEOPLE WHO KNEW HIM IN A DIFFERENT WAY THAN I KNEW HIM. IT SOUNDED LIKE HE WAS A HARD MAN TO LIKE. HE WAS NOT THAT WAY WITH ME. SOMETIMES HE WAS A TEDDY BEAR. HE COULD GIVE AUNT KATHY A HARD TIME ONE DAY AND GO WITH ME ON ERRANDS THE NEXT. ONE DAY, I TOLD HIM THAT AFTER A WHILE I NEEDED TO WORK ON BALLOON FEST FROM MY PLACE AND WE WOULD GO UP THERE. HE GOT INTO THE CAR AND OFF WE WENT. I WORKED ON MY COMPUTER AND HE SAT IN A BIG LAZY-BOY CHAIR, WATCHING ANIMAL PLANET, ENJOYING A GLASS OF WINE. SO WE HAD A SNACK AND MORE WINE. MOM CALLED AND SAID THEY WERE HOME, SO I TOLD POPPY THAT, AND GOT HIS HAT, AND HE WANTED TO STAY AND FINISH WATCHING THE SHOW, HE SAID, YOU DON'T SEE THEM OPERATING ON A CAT EVERYDAY. I COULD GET HIM TO DO THINGS THEY COULDN'T.

WHEN I WAS MARRIED AND WORKING AT EASTWOOD, HE WOULD STAND UP WHEN WE WOULD LEAVE, SO I STARTED HUGGING HIM (A REAL BEAR HUG). HE JUST STOOD THERE LIKE A ROCK, THEN HE EITHER KNEW IT WAS COMING OR GOT USE TO AFFECTION AND STARTED HUGGING ME BACK.

HE WAS SO CUTE WITH LINDSEY THAT WE ALL WOULD SMILE AT HIS FEW MINUTES OF SILLINESS

ONE OF HIS DOCTORS SAID WE WAS STOIC. THAT WAS MY POPPY ALL RIGHT. HE WOULD NEVER TELL US HE WAS IN PAIN.

BUT MY POPPY WAS ALSO A MAN THAT HAD AN ICE CREAM CONE
MELTING & RUNNING DOWN HIS HAND, BECAUSE IT WAS VERY HOT OUT AND HE COULD NOT LICK IT FAST ENOUGH. WE BOTH ENJOYED OUR ICE CREAMS THAT DAY.

BY: KELLY LYNN TROXELL FIGLER
GRAND DAUGHTER