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!