Tribute to Grandpa

Grandpa Donald--June 28, 1932--February 9, 2001

My Grandpa Donald was an artist. He had his Masters degree in Art, and taught art at the high school in Thief River Falls for many years. I remember being a little girl and curiously going into his art room at his house. He would sometimes let me use some of his paints, but usually I wasn't allowed to even be in there. When I was around 7 yrs old, he got diagnosed with something similar to Alzheimers Disease. Because of this, I have very few memories of him when he was his true self. I remember he would always tug on my hair and I'd turn around and he'd look around and whistle, acting all innocent :) I spent alot of time at my grandparents' house, and I watched as the disease slowly took my grandpa away. I am sad that I never got to really know my grandpa. He died in 2001, and now I only can know my grandpa through my fuzzy early childhood memories, my family's shared stories of him, and his art.

Miss you, Grandpa...I know you're painting beautiful pictures of Heaven!

My Grandma Helen and Grandpa Don in Germany (where they got married!)

Grandpa reading me my favorite
childhood book, "Meet Penny"

Here are a few of his drawings/paintings we have around our house.

The old Depot building in Thief River Falls