Growing up I had the privilege of living right next door to my grandparents. I was blessed to have grown up with two very important men in my life, that being my daddy, and my grandpa Stanley. Many kids are happy to have one father, but I had two, and that's exactly what he was, he was just like a second dad. Words cannot describe how great of a man grandpa was, and he spoiled me rotten! Grandma always tells me how grandpa would always say that I was his pride and joy, and these are some of my greatest memories I got to share with him growing up.

Once I graduated highschool, I moved to columbia to attend college at the University of Missouri. Everytime I would come home, I would look across the yard and there grandpa would be...standing in the doorway waiting and watching for me to come home. He showered me with his unconditional love.

Of course it doesn't stop there! Many grandparents give their grandchildren money and presents for holidays....Grandpa definitely spoiled me in this way, but he did something that NO other grandfather would do...He bought me a house to live in for college, not only because he loved me, but because he wanted to continue to take care of me even when he wasn't here anymore.

Some other great memories that I have with grandpa were when I was little and my mom and I would walk next door at night and sit on the patio with grandpa to talk and he taught me how to catch lightning bugs! He was always finding little creepy crawlers for me to have pets, and one of my favorites was a caterpillar he helped me catch and I kept it in a fish tank until it made a cacoon and turned into a butterfly:)

Grandpa not only spoiled me like crazy, but taught me many things about life, things that I will carry in my heart until I get to see him again. Even though with as much as he spoiled me you'd think that I didn't know the value of a dollar, but he taught me not only the value of it but how blessed I am to have the things I do and to appreciate even the little things in life. He taught me hard work, respect, and determination, and for those things I will be forever grateful. I truly believe that I wouldn't be where I am today if it weren't for growing up around such wonderful parents and grandparents.

He was my biggest fan, but also my toughest critic. He was always so proud of me, and it didn't matter if it was winning a basketball game, getting first place at a dance competition, or bringing home an A from school. I would walk next door, and he'd embrace me with a huge hug and called me his "little sweetie". He was always proud of me, but never let me slack off and was always pushing me to be my absolute best. I'd bring home an "A" from school and he would want to know why it was just an "A" and not an "A+"....he knew my potential, and by doing this he made me realize that the sky isn't my limit, but to shoot even farther for all of those bright stars..a lesson that will stick with me forever.

Grandpa was definitely my biggest fan. He came to every basketball game, volleyball game, and any other activities I was involved in...and trust me, keeping up with my extracurricular activities was a full time job, but he was always there. Not only would grandpa Stanley come to watch and support me, but he would sit in the front row and I'm pretty sure he was yelling louder than my coaches at times, it was AWESOME :) Thanks for that Grandpa!

I think the one of the greatest things I will always remember about him was how unselfish he was. Everything was always about his family, never about him. It was amazing how one man could take such good care of his family, and that was always his number one priority. To grandpa, taking care of his family wasn't an option, but something he embraced whole -heartedly every single day of his life and did it with 100% effort with a smile on his face.

I love you tons grandpa, more than you'll ever know,...words can't describe how great you were... God couldn't have picked a better angel :)

Grandpa was born May 5 1929 in St. Joseph, MO and was the son of Anna and George Zawodny. He graduated from Benton Highschool in 1947 and married Mary Ann Gomolka on November 5 1955 in St. Joseph MO, at the St. Stanislaus Catholic Church. He enlisted in the United States Army April 28, 1948, and after serving 21 years retired as Lieutenant Colonel on June 30, 1969. During his service he was involved in the Korean Conflict, was awarded the Legion of Merit and his last 3 years of service he was an Executive Officer with the Basic Combat Training Committee Group at the United States Army Training Center in Fort Leonard Wood Missouri. During the period of 1968 and 1969 he served as acting Commander and Commanding Officer of the Group. After retiring from the army he worked as a Safety Director for Farmland Industries in St. Joseph, following that he entered into a career in real estate. He was an avid outdoorsman, enjoyed hunting, fishing, working in his garden, and most importantly spoiling his granddaughter.