Grandpa

     Grandpa died Wednesday afternoon(May 26) of cancer. It's good that he isn't sick anymore, but it hasn't exactly sunk in yet. Or maybe it has, all of the last school year I don't know. It's hard to tell with things like that, sometimes.
     The funeral was last Tuesday; it went well. The funeral home was packed to the limit with family, friends and coworkers, and at every intersection all the way to the cemetery there was a fire truck standing guard. They rang the fire bell to signal his passing; which was really emotional for some reason. Also the slideshow of pictures; most of us were kind of falling apart.
     After the graveside we went over to Louise and Harry's, where about eighty to a hundred relatives came to talk and hang out, for that is what you do when there is a grouping of Lankfords. Most people from their church brought food over, so there was more than enough to feed everyone. Mom had a good time spending time with everybody; Caleb shot baskets with a cousin.

     Jackie Dale Lankford was born on April 14, 1947 in Pawhuska(the nearest town with a hospital to Wynona), and was in the middle of the Lankford kids; yougner than Bob and Louise, but older than Ken, Nina or Linda. They bounced around as Papa Lankford worked in construction in various places while preaching. (Accuracy of facts isn't part of the stories of Lankford history, so everything has to be patched together.) Eventually he married Linda Morris in the mid-sixties, and they had two daughters, Dayla and Jatina. He worked for the Tahlequah Public Works Authority as a lineman for many years, and also served with the Tahlequah Fire Department. There was also a landscaping business at one point in the early 80's.
     In his free time, he enjoyed canoe racing with Bob on the Illinois River, and the family often went on road-trip vacations to various states. Later, after his marriage to Robbie, he loved to spend time spoiling their dogs Bogey, Fancy and Gretchen. They also went through a square-dancing phase at one point, and they liked to take off in the RV for some destination or other(usually Branson) almost anytime. He also really loved being out on Lake Tenkiller in his pontoon boat.

     I didn't really know him very well until I got to college, though we'd gotten closer in my teens. I'd go over there on most weekends while in Tahlequah at NSU, and we'd watch Shark Tank each Friday night and then whatever sports were on ESPN or FS1. I was at his trailer when Dale Earnhardt died in the 2001 Daytona 500, and also on 9/11.

     He came to a lot of my soccer games and homeschool-group plays, and it was a tradition that we went over there for Thanksgiving. He was just so full of common sense, which is far too uncommon nowadays. And yes, it's good that he isn't sick any longer, but it's still really sad for the rest of us. Especially Robbie.

     Love you, Grandpa.