Funeral eulogy
November 18, 2023
My grandfather was known to some as Al, Mr. Malt, Honey, Dad or Daddy, Grandpa or Uncle Al the Kiddies Pal…however you knew him you knew he was an extraordinary man…surrounded by love and respect…and surrounded by women…by that I mean he was a brother to 3 sisters (Babe, Syl and Eve), a wonderful, loving husband to Betty for close to 50 years, a caring father to Linda and Cindy, a special grandpa to Michael (the only male), Sara, Melissa and Elizabeth and a great-grandfather to Jordan, Emma, Arianna and Makayla.
All of us were blessed to have him in our lives for so long…he truly touched us each and I know we can all keep his memory alive in our own ways.
You may remember him when:
You see a crossword puzzle and think about how he would take his daily walk for the morning paper and by this time of day grandpa would be filling in the crossword puzzle in the Palm Beach Post
You may remember him when:
See a bourbon on the rocks (with not too much ice)…in the hand of an elderly gentleman, standing there talking with his younger buddies…my grandpa had his daily routine and loved to meet his special friends for Happy Hour…well grandpa…I can guarantee there is a line of your old buddies waiting to give you a handshake or a hug right now…but remember you’re with grandma again, so you can only have that ONE drink!
You may remember him when:
You hear a discussion on politics and think of how he loved to have a spirited conversation with a Left or Right winged individual, always listening to their point of view…but definitely letting them know his as well. I even asked him once if he agreed with everything the Democrats stood for and he said “No,… but I don’t agree with anything the Republicans do!”
You may remember him for:
His kind words… he’d always say when I called “enough about me honey; tell me how your job is; how is your social life; how do you like Ohio, I worry about you living there all alone…”
You might remember him for:
His generosities…he always tried to give me a $20 dollar bill, or if you picked him up something at the store he’d insist you let him pay you back…or always picking up the check at dinner
Or his thoughtfulness…he always kept a calendar and wrote down everyone’s birthdays… year after year. He tried his best to send a card and there was always a check with a little note in the memo….either saying “Happy Birthday” or “Happy Chanukkah” and a little smiley face on the greeting card next to his “Love Grandpa” signature.
You may remember him:
When you see the State Office Building as you enter the city of Pittsburgh through the Ft. Pitt Tunnel…from the time I was little, I’d see the building and say…. “there’s grandpa’s building”…this is where he worked before he retired in the late ‘70s and moved to Florida shortly after with my grandma.
You may remember him for:
his love of sports…I don’t think there was a game on TV he didn’t watch or at least listen to…
I would always worry about him when he was watching a Steelers game, he’d pace around jingling the change in his pocket…half the time I thought I was going to have a heart attack…so I could only imagine how he was feeling…I was so happy he was able to witness the Steelers finally win their “One for the thumb” a few years back… and ecstatic that he got to see the Sixth Super bowl win last season…I actually just listened to an old voicemail message he left me in February after we won…he told me how much he enjoyed watching the game and was sure I enjoyed it too. I did have the privilege of watching the Steelers/Vikings game with him last month…he didn’t miss a play! I even explained my Fantasy Football Team to him…I’m sure he was proud that his love of sports has been passed down.
You may remember him for:
His service in World War II…he could tell you detailed army stories as if he were just in the Battle of the Bulge yesterday…even exchanging army stories with a visitor a couple of weeks ago…I remember when I was a little girl and we would visit my grandparents in Florida…my grandpa would tell us bedtime stories…and some times those stories were about his adventures during the War in Europe. He was very proud of his country and even made sure to wear his American Flag Pin on whichever baseball hat he wore that day.
You may remember him :
as a gentleman… a true mench, that lived to be 94 years young…a man that saw so many changes in this world…from the invention of television to pocket calculators to space travel to the world wide web (which he used to check his stocks and send emails about 8 years ago when he had WebTV!) He also saw the successes of his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.
As he told me when I left Florida a few weeks ago…”when you walk out this door honey, there is
going to be a huge void here”… he also told me he'd always have a special place in his heart and that we'd be together again someday!
Well now grandpa, I feel that void, but I'm going to do my best to fill it with
old memories...and create new ones that you'd be proud of.
You can rest assured none of us will be alone no matter where we live, because you will be watching over us and will live in our memories and hearts forever!
I love you Grandpa!
All of us were blessed to have him in our lives for so long…he truly touched us each and I know we can all keep his memory alive in our own ways.
You may remember him when:
You see a crossword puzzle and think about how he would take his daily walk for the morning paper and by this time of day grandpa would be filling in the crossword puzzle in the Palm Beach Post
You may remember him when:
See a bourbon on the rocks (with not too much ice)…in the hand of an elderly gentleman, standing there talking with his younger buddies…my grandpa had his daily routine and loved to meet his special friends for Happy Hour…well grandpa…I can guarantee there is a line of your old buddies waiting to give you a handshake or a hug right now…but remember you’re with grandma again, so you can only have that ONE drink!
You may remember him when:
You hear a discussion on politics and think of how he loved to have a spirited conversation with a Left or Right winged individual, always listening to their point of view…but definitely letting them know his as well. I even asked him once if he agreed with everything the Democrats stood for and he said “No,… but I don’t agree with anything the Republicans do!”
You may remember him for:
His kind words… he’d always say when I called “enough about me honey; tell me how your job is; how is your social life; how do you like Ohio, I worry about you living there all alone…”
You might remember him for:
His generosities…he always tried to give me a $20 dollar bill, or if you picked him up something at the store he’d insist you let him pay you back…or always picking up the check at dinner
Or his thoughtfulness…he always kept a calendar and wrote down everyone’s birthdays… year after year. He tried his best to send a card and there was always a check with a little note in the memo….either saying “Happy Birthday” or “Happy Chanukkah” and a little smiley face on the greeting card next to his “Love Grandpa” signature.
You may remember him:
When you see the State Office Building as you enter the city of Pittsburgh through the Ft. Pitt Tunnel…from the time I was little, I’d see the building and say…. “there’s grandpa’s building”…this is where he worked before he retired in the late ‘70s and moved to Florida shortly after with my grandma.
You may remember him for:
his love of sports…I don’t think there was a game on TV he didn’t watch or at least listen to…
I would always worry about him when he was watching a Steelers game, he’d pace around jingling the change in his pocket…half the time I thought I was going to have a heart attack…so I could only imagine how he was feeling…I was so happy he was able to witness the Steelers finally win their “One for the thumb” a few years back… and ecstatic that he got to see the Sixth Super bowl win last season…I actually just listened to an old voicemail message he left me in February after we won…he told me how much he enjoyed watching the game and was sure I enjoyed it too. I did have the privilege of watching the Steelers/Vikings game with him last month…he didn’t miss a play! I even explained my Fantasy Football Team to him…I’m sure he was proud that his love of sports has been passed down.
You may remember him for:
His service in World War II…he could tell you detailed army stories as if he were just in the Battle of the Bulge yesterday…even exchanging army stories with a visitor a couple of weeks ago…I remember when I was a little girl and we would visit my grandparents in Florida…my grandpa would tell us bedtime stories…and some times those stories were about his adventures during the War in Europe. He was very proud of his country and even made sure to wear his American Flag Pin on whichever baseball hat he wore that day.
You may remember him :
as a gentleman… a true mench, that lived to be 94 years young…a man that saw so many changes in this world…from the invention of television to pocket calculators to space travel to the world wide web (which he used to check his stocks and send emails about 8 years ago when he had WebTV!) He also saw the successes of his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.
As he told me when I left Florida a few weeks ago…”when you walk out this door honey, there is
going to be a huge void here”… he also told me he'd always have a special place in his heart and that we'd be together again someday!
Well now grandpa, I feel that void, but I'm going to do my best to fill it with
old memories...and create new ones that you'd be proud of.
You can rest assured none of us will be alone no matter where we live, because you will be watching over us and will live in our memories and hearts forever!
I love you Grandpa!