OUTNUMBERED AND LOVING IT

Welcome to the Sanchez Family. We are a God loving, church going, unconditional loving, Army family of three wild and crazy boys and one 100 pound english bulldog, taking it one day at a time. I'm the mom, the only girl in the house, and the Queen. Hang on tight, it's sure to be a wild ride!

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

My Granddaddy


This will be the hardest post I have ever written. Tears are falling down my face even as I type. My granddaddy is my hero. He is the strongest man I have ever met. He is honest, upstanding, and near perfect. Well in my eyes he IS perfect. He is 86 years old and is now entering the final stages of life. He fell Tuesday night and hit his head at home. We took him to the hospital and then we found out that he had pneumonia. It has not gotten any better since then. Today we made the hard decision to call in Hospice and prepare for his journey home. They have moved him to ICU in Shelbyville and now we are waiting for a bed to open up at the Hospice unit in LaGrange. Please pray for my family at this time. We are losing an amazing person, but Heaven is gaining him.



I want to give you all an insight on my granddaddy. Some people know him as Bobby, Mr. Stratton, Coach Stratton, Judge Stratton, Daddy, or Robert J(that what's Gran calls him). There are 7 of us that know him as Granddaddy and we are the ones who got the best side of him. You always wanted to ride home from Church with Granddaddy, he always needed to stop at JT's for a loaf of bread. Well you always got to pick out any candy that you wanted and eat it before lunch! He loved to dress up for us, masks, pig slippers, false faces. He could always make us laugh. He liked to pretend he could stretch his arms, the great grandchildren loved this trick! He always had a story to tell, chicken glasses, Bagdad ballpark, Pookie Plater. He loved his ice cream before bed and he shared with us willingly. He loved to be at the ballpark. When I had Zachary he was always asking which hand he was going to throw with. He was saving him a glove from Stratton Sporting Goods. We were truly blessed. He got to see three of his grandchildren get married. He got to see 5 great-grandsons born and he knew he had one more on the way. He had 86 amazing years and even though this is hard, I know I have been blessed. I love you Granddaddy!

4 comments:

Jessica said...

Now I'm crying too! What a tribute! I remember him well, and he will be missed. I just got an e-mail from church and they are asking for prayer as well. ((((HUGS)))

Collins Family said...

OH Melissa I am so sorry and having been down this rode a few short months ago please let me know if I can help you in anyway. When he moves to LaGrange feel free to bring the boys over while you go and be with him I am serious. Please keep me posted. I will be praying and I love ys girl.

cb_wilson said...

I am very sorry for you and the rest of the family. I have BALLED reading this because I remember all of the things you wrote about him first hand. Though I haven't seen a lot of him in the past few years, I still call him "Granddaddy" and he still treats me like one of his own. I am praying for you because I know how tough this is for you. I know that you know, but I'll say it again... Please, please let me know if you need anything as I am here to do anything you need! I love you!!!

CBJR Family said...

I just saw the e-mail from church and came straight to your blog. I am out of town and hadn't heard of his falling. I am so sorry! I will definitely be praying for him and for your family. He is a great man and sounds like a wonderful granddaddy!