Grandpa Lucas

On the last day of fall break and my mom's visit, she got the call first thing in the morning that my grandpa was actively dying. I had never heard that term before...actively dying. I guess it means that the person is in the very final stage of life. His body was shutting down. My mom immediately called Sheila (her only sister) and my dad. Then she called my grandma. My dad took my grandma over there to be with him.

Then it was the calls to my siblings. I was envious of them living so close to be able to be there. All I could do was look up a flight schedule for my mom. She was so calm about the whole thing. She said that she had a really good, goodbye with him before she left for Phoenix. That was when he said to her, "What does Phoenix have that I don't?"

The nurse actually asked my mom if she wanted them to try to prolong his life long enough for her to come back, and she said no. Apparently, he was kind of struggling for breath so instead of turning up the oxygen, they normally turn it down to speed the process up, and it helps them not struggle so much. Oh man, this is making me cry, writing this all down.

So, we got a flight for my mom for that afternoon, and my siblings all went over to the Veteran's home. I dropped her off at the airport and came home and started to pack for the drive up to Utah. Unfortunately, we had bought all of those plants at the plant sale over the weekend so we had to take care of them before we could go.

Fortunately, John was able to use bereavement time to help deal with this and go to the funeral. Planting plants in our yard isn't as simple as it sounds. We have to determine whether or not the plant should be on the drip system, and if so we have to adjust the drip system to make a spot for the plant. This involves starting at one spigot and digging it up and following along the line until it is near where you want the plant and then adding a new line and spigot. I was glad to have John's help to deal with those ten plants in a hurry. *Fingers crossed* they survive.

So my mom was off on the plane, and I went home to start that process. At 3:05 pm I got a text saying that he had passed. I guess Kayla, David, and Marc's families were able to be there and some of the Armstrong's. Unfortunately, my mom was still flying there. They waited for her before doing the Veteran's home salute though. They drape his body with a flag and all of the able-bodied people there line the halls and put their hands over their hearts as they take him out.

I found out later that his last words were, "Oh Mother, you're here." Apparently he had been calling for her before this.

This makes me so sad. Not so much because I wanted him to live longer. I guess I am just mourning the man that he was. The man of my childhood, who could do anything and build anything. I thought he had the biggest muscles in the world. He worked in the lumber business for over 70 years, building his business from the ground up a couple of times because it had burned down. He was amazing.

We drove up to Utah on Wednesday, leaving bright and early. We hit some traffic in Flagstaff but didn't stop until Page. We let the baby nurse and stretch her legs, ate some food, and were off again. We drove until Fillmore and stopped again and ended up arriving in Ogden around dinner time. My mom was gone, and my dad was there but he was having some pain in his face and mouth. We still don't know what that is about, but hopefully soon he will have some answers from the MRI.

For the next couple days, we tried to help out up there, gathering things for the funeral. It still seems surreal to me that he passed away. The evening of the funeral, a family in the ward that Grandpa had helped out, brought dinner from their restaurant to feed the family. Then my grandma got a new dress, unfortunately she has a bad sense of time passing so she didn't really get ready for the viewing on time, but she got there eventually.

At the viewing they had set up some of my grandpa's things on the table. His funny Christmas presents, pictures, coin collection. Also his map of Lake Powell. It had his first few visits recorded there. He ended up visiting Lake Powell over 70 times. I can't even imagine.

Table at the viewing with a few of my grandpa's things.

This is the map that he drew of Lake Powell.

The day of the funeral there was no complications with getting there on time, thank goodness. Shay Holley, Bart Spencer, David, William, and McKenzie all spoke or gave presentations. Marc and Miriam's family sang "Families Can Be Together Forever." We agreed to sing the song that we sang in stake conference "I'm Following My Savior."

There was a complication for singing that though. We brought our music up there with us. I gave it to John to carry in. John apparently gave it to Ellie to carry. And then Ellie apparently gave it to Miriam to carry. Shocker, the music went missing at that point. We noticed this just a few minutes before we were supposed to sing. So, William is giving his presentation and I am trying to discretely check the tables, foyer, and some of the benches. No luck. I ended up running into one of the mortuary guys who said we could print it from the computer. Turns out LDS.org only has the lyrics not the music, which is the part we need so John can play it on the piano. I try to log in to his email because I know that he was emailed a copy, but since it was an unusual computer location it locked me out and wanted to send a verification code to our phone. So, I run back up to the chapel to get the phone, but he has our phone, not his phone. Ahhh! I tell Bryson that he is going to have to play his song first and we'll sing after his number, and he looks at me like I am crazy. Probably not without cause, I was getting frantic at that point. Fortunately, I run back downstairs to see if I could find it another way and meet one of the mortuary guys coming up with a copy he just found online. Thank goodness!

So it all worked out just in the nick of time. Unfortunately--unlike the other times we have sung and just held Holland and it was fine--this time she got super restless and whiny while we were singing, trying to dive out of my arms. So it was a pretty good spectacle. :) 

After the funeral, they had an armed forces ceremony where they shot the guns, played taps, and folded his flag. It was really touching, but Holland was once again having a melt down so I couldn't really see it, which was discouraging and disappointing.

The next thing was a luncheon at the church. John stayed out in the car with a sleeping Holland while the rest of us ate. He is so great!

My girls dancing after the funeral luncheon.

Grandpa's awesome Christmas gifts. His 'chain saw,' Christmas ornaments (a painted shot-put), the life jacket (filled with concrete), electric hammer (regular hammer with a plug coming out the bottom), were some of my favorites.

 

This is a classic Grandpa shirt.

There were such beautiful flowers there (that we are covering up in the group photo). After the tables were put away my girls took off their shoes and danced around the gymnasium.

I feel so bad for my Grandma. She kept saying that she wouldn't wish Grandpa back, not with the kind of quality of life he had. But still my heart breaks for her. I can't imagine my companion of nearly 70 years dying.

Three generations.

At one point this map was littered with push pins marking their travels. We just recreated a little bit of it.

Grandpa's giant magic squares. I think it goes to more than 20,000 numbers. Whoa.

I am so grateful for the blessings of the gospel and my testimony of the doctrine of eternal families. His body is laid to rest there, but it isn't his final resting place.

At the funeral home with the other family crypts.

This is a little life sketch that he wrote for his 90th birthday.

John James (Jack) Lucas

I was born at the LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City, on June 9 1924, to Elza and Marie James Lucas, the third of four sons. When I was about six years old we moved to Ogden where my father managed a retail lumber store. I started working there sometimes, straightening 2x4s in the back of the shed as they were placed in by hand. That began 70 years of working in the lumber business. My father started Lucas Builders Supply at 1728 Washington Blvd. in 1937. My brother Bill, my Dad and I built "The Mill" in west Ogden the winter of 1948-49, a record cold and snowy year. Bill later moved to New York, while I continued to run The Mill. I served as the President and manager of it until August 15, 2001. On October 17, 1959, about 1:00 am a phone call informed me that The Mill was on fire. It destroyed everything but the office and a truck load of lumber for the government, so I built it again. I also helped build Powder Mountain Ski Resort, and served on the Board of Directors until it was sold. I also was Chairman of the Board.

I attended school at Polk Elementary, and Mound Fort Junior High, graduating from Ogden High in 1942. As the president of the Stagecraft Guild at Ogden High, I supervised and worked on the stage for assemblies, regional events and national touring plays. After the war I attended Weber State College.

On March 13, 1943, I was inducted in to the Army during World War II. After some schooling and training as an antiaircraft gunner, I was sent to the South Pacific to a small island named Morotai, about half way between New Guinea and the Philippines. It was the headquarters of the Eighth Air Force, and the Philippines were bombed from there prior to General MacArthur's return. I experienced 87 air raids while on the island. We were scheduled to be in a diversionary invasion on the southern tip of Japan while the real invasion would occur near Tokyo, so the atom bombs ending the war undoubtedly saved my life. I returned home in February 1946.

Upon my return I met a Slaterville girl, Elna Cobabe, whom I married on January 28, 1947, in the Salt Lake Temple (67 years ago). We are the parents of two daughters, Lynette Lucas Deru, Marriott-Slaterville, and Sheila Lucas Armstrong of Salt Lake City. Our posterity now includes 10 wonderful grandchildren and 15 super great-grandchildren.

My service in the Church includes Sunday School Counselor, Elders Quorum President, Ward Clerk, Ward Finance Clerk, Stake Finance Clerk for 15 Years, High Council, Counselor to two Bishops, and Bishop of the Slaterville Second Ward. I was also a Ward Missionary, Stake Mission President, and served a part time service mission for 12 years at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building.

I have always enjoyed traveling. Growing up I made trips to National Parks and to the San Francisco World's Fair in 1939. After marriage we vacationed with our daughters in all 50 states by the time Sheila was 13, and in several foreign countries. One of my goals became to visit at least 100 countries. We have exceeded that having been to 173 countries as listed by the Century Club, and all seven continents at least twice. My fall and broken hip in December forced cancellation of a cruise which would have added 5 more countries. One of our favorite places to visit with family and friends is Lake Powell (over 70 visits). At one time I held a Coast Guard pilot license for inland waters.

I was a host at Antelope State Park for six years, and a volunteer at Golden Spike National Historic Site for 10 years. There I took part in the re-enactment of the driving of the spike as the Governor of Arizona presenting a gold and silver spike. We had two re-enactments every Saturday and holiday from May 10, until October. We square danced with The Tumbleweeds and I was a caller for several years. I am a numismatist, a Magic Squares fan, and enjoy Sudoku. It's been a good 90 years!

I love this photo of my grandparents.

Cute video of the girls singing to Grandma.

The Beginning of October=The End of Our Schedule

Over my girls' fall break my mom came to visit. She almost didn't come because my grandpa had a small stroke that is typically indicative of not good things, but he seemed to recover remarkably well. He was eating and talking by the time my mom left. In fact, the day she left, he told her in his grumpy/joking way, "What does Phoenix have that I don't?"

I wasn't really expecting my mom to come, but happy she could be here. It does kind of throw our schedule for a loop though. Even our non-schedule schedule gets put on hold if that makes sense. It is fun though. I am glad she spurs us to do things we wouldn't typically do. Like go all the way up to Scottsdale to go on a nature walk.

We also went to a fun park and rode a train, carousel, and had a picnic. More typical for me is go to the gym, go grocery shopping if needed, put the baby down for a nap, do school/home work with the girls, do the home maintenance work (dishes, laundry, meal prep), and try to do some kind of at home activity if we have time. Very little, if any, of those things get done when my mom comes to visit.

These are the things memories are made of though. I never, ever would have driven through downtown Phoenix during rush hour to go to some Japanese friendship gardens. It was fun to try a new experience though. There was a large pond under construction, but there was a smaller pond that had koi. My girls really enjoyed feeding the fish and weren't even nervous at the writhing, churning mass of fish that were trying to eat the food right from their hands. They tried to drop the food right into the gaping mouths. Yuck. I am definitely not an animal person.

Aside from the bubbly almost foam, it was really quite pretty. I gotta wonder what was in the water though to make it go like that.

Daddy wanted to feed Holly to the koi. :) See the mouths open wide?

As we continued around the pond, we came to a musical performance. It was very ethnic sounding, and at one point the main guy paused the music and played his didgeridoo. It is a long wooden pole that is definitely unique. We stopped there and had a snack while we listened to them.  

Holly loved the snacks.

The Japanese gardens was a beautiful place, with my beautiful girls.

The next day we went to a plant sale at Boyce Thompson Arboretum. It was a little more than an hour's drive away, and we had to take two cars, but it wasn't so bad. The plant sale was surprisingly cheap, and despite the craziness of taking all three kids to a plant sale with my mom we made it through. My mom does love her plants. We were pretty interested in it too. We ended buying a few plants, and my mom bought some for our yard too, including a fig tree. We will have to see what that is like. We ended up getting about 10 plants total.

After the sale we walked around the arboretum. It was lovely! We had a picnic and then went to the butterfly garden.

Group Shot!

There were three areas with different types of climates shown--dry, moderate, and tropical. The palms were in the tropical zone.

At some point in the garden where they were showing all of the plants from Australia (that apparently grow well in Phoenix), Miss Holly fell asleep in the stroller. That really was a blessing as it allowed us to spend a few more hours there. If she hadn't we would have had to take her home in order to get a nap.

This was also in the wet zone.

This cactus house was one of my favorite places. Ever since moving to AZ my appreciation for cacti has skyrocketed. That being said, I didn't even really like them before. ;) There are so many cool varieties out there though!

The cool cactus house!

What a cool place! We definitely will be returning sometime. My mom offered to buy a year pass, but I didn't see us going back quite that often to justify it. It was amazing though and definitely a return trip is happening!

This was in the children's garden.