After I published the eulogy presented at my father’s funeral on December 11, three of his grandchildren asked me if their tribute would be published as well. Well, here it is!
Mathieu Hodgson
Dear family, friends, honored guests,
To begin, we want to let you know that we will not present to you Larry’s biography.
Not just because we’ve only been a part of his life for a few years, but rather because he was a transparent and generous enough man that you already remember what a pleasant, hard-working man he was.
We, his grandchildren, have had the great privilege of getting to know him in a different way. Each in our own.
Today we want to share with you all the love and admiration we have for him.
Grandpa, You Were Interesting.
We thought you were very lucky to have been able to explore the world as you did… You told us your life and travel stories with great passion. In a way, we traveled with you.
We would have loved to have had the chance to travel with you for real… However, we now have a big list of wonderful places to visit all around the planet. We don’t promise to visit gardens, but we do promise to be attentive to the plants and flowers that surround us. And at that time, we will have a thought for you.
Grandpa, you were really interesting. You taught us many things about plants and gardens. Often, you would share your discoveries with us by making us discover particular plants. Sometimes, you even made us taste strange flowers or fruits that sometimes tasted very strange!
Talking together was always fun…
Grandpa, with you, we understood that we had to live passionately.
Grandpa, You Were Generous.
First of all, you were generous with your time. Even though you had a lot of work to do, you always had time for a big hug.
You were also generous at Christmas… For you, the important thing was the quantity and not ….. the usefulness 😉 At the approach of each holiday season, you took pleasure in raiding the dollar store to provide everyone with a stocking full of useless stuff. It made us so happy… much to grandma’s dismay!
Last year you donated a large portion of your plant collection to our school’s endowment. We were able to organize a great sale and the proceeds will be used to redesign our playground.
That day when you entrusted us with “your precious plants” that you have been growing for so long, we saw once again the greatness of your heart.
Grandpa, thanks to you, we know that we must think of others and not only of ourselves.
Grandpa, With You, It Was Relaxing!
We remember your naps on the couch… The dog sitting on your belly, we had fun watching him go up and down with your breathing. There are also the naps in the middle of our stuffed animals and those in the middle of the plants in your garden… You could sleep anywhere!
Grandpa, with you, we have NOT learned to be lazy. Instead, we learned to slow down the pace and most importantly, to give importance only to what is really important.
Grandpa, You Were Funny.
You taught us that horses are actually cows that run fast…
… that dry water is more pleasant than wet water…
… and that the crib under the Christmas tree can make an excellent garage for small cars!
Sometimes our discussions turned into a song.
We will never forget your laughter.
Grandpa, you taught us not to take ourselves too seriously.
Even though you weren’t our grandpa by birth, you were the best grandpa by heart we could have had.
We will miss you…
We love you!
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Wonderful tribute to everyone’s favorite Laidback Grandfather 🙂
Tears. Really.
Such a beautiful tribute to a lovely grandfather. It is full of warmth and humour. Thank you for sharing!
From Michigan in the USA I’ve always enjoyed Larry’s humor and compassion but mostly the wonderfully vast amount of knowledge Larry took countless hours of time to impart so thoroughly on his “laidback gardener”blog. I followed along for many years and have learned so much. His family and in particular the grandchildren obviously have a lifetime of memories to cherish. So now let’s imagine how Larry teaches the many gardeners up in heaven with his daily wisdom and encouragement to remember and appreciate the nature of the world and all that’s in it. RIP my friend!??
My tribute post also mysteriously ended with 2 ?? IDK how or why, but certainly no ?? intended????
Sign of a life well lived when you have the love of the next generation as well as the gift of inspiring them. Larry will be missed but you have so many wonderful memories he will always be with you.
I loved your Grampa Larry, thanks to being one of his many friends in the garden writing community. I’ll remember his big booming laugh and his curiosity about all things, and his generosity with his time and knowledge. I love him even more now that I know what a great Grampa he was! He will live in your hearts forever.
A great post on why being involved with children (grandchildren or not) is profoundly important. Lovely tribute, thanks for taking the time to express it and share it. Larry will be missed so much!
What a wonderful tribute! He taught you children well. This was very heartfelt to read. Always remember to cherish those memories.
What a lovely tribute to their grandfather. Love the photos. Such a treasure of pictures but more importantly of memories. I pray they think of their dear grandpa whenever they behold a thing of beauty and wonder.
Beautiful post! The children did love their grandpa.
I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to leave a question mark at the end of my comment.
So sorry. I did not mean to leave a question mark.
I always enjoy reading Larry’s posts and have learned so much about plants, nature. What a great grandfather he was and he was so loved by his grandchildren. Heaven has gained an angel. RIP! Mr Larry Hodgson. You have a great family ?!
OMG! How lovely ! How loving!