In Memory of 'Poppy'!

Troy's grandfather, "Poppy", Richard Dorius Johnson passed away on Friday, October 3, 2008. He was 95 years old and happy to finally go. His sweetheart, Grandmama, passed on 4 years earlier in the same month. He missed her so much and was anxious to move on to be with her. He was a great Man, Husband, Father, Grandfather, Great Grandfather and patriot. He loved Heavenly Father and the Savior, to the point of proving their existence to the world. He wrote a book, "Does God Exist?". We will miss his love, discussions, positive outlooks, experiences and passion.

We were able to travel Monday to Yuba to spend the night before his funeral and burial. We had a great time with Robb, Dalee and their girls along with Lance and Becky. Glenn and Merrily joined us later that night after a family dinner and picking Katy up at the airport. Our Hotel was strategically placed (I think) next to a train track.
So naturally we had to go exploring. Robb found an awesome Alligator Lizard and without thinking, Gavin sneakily grabbed it like Steve Irwin behind the neck and started showing everyone.


I was a little alarmed as it started arching its neck reaching to bite Gavin's hand but he was very calm about the whole thing. Everyone survived even the Lizard.


We kept the little ladies at a safe distance. It was amazing how well Simmy, Venice and Mazzy got along. We are excited for future outtings together.
Troy waited with the boys for a few different trains to pass putting pennies on the track so they could get smashed. Then he found Colby's highlight of the trip a railroad spike.

It made its way home with us of course.

This is a faraway shot of our family in case it isn't obvious. Dalee did her best with the bad lighting, faraway shot and the railroad. I bet we look really good :)

Tuesday we drove to Gridley for the Funeral and Graveside service. It was so nice to have so many family members there for such short notice.
The Great Grandkids sang, there was a slideshow of Poppy's life and very good food.

Mazzy did her part of being pretty up beat and eye candy for mommy.
At the Graveside service a few people got up to talk about Poppy and there was more singing. One of the best moments was when Levi Smyth played "Amazing Grace" on the bag pipes. He was actually by Poppy's side when he passed on Saturday and was playing that song for him shortly before he passed.

It was a beautiful day and I think Poppy would have approved.

This is a picture of the Great Grand Kids that were able to come. There are probably twice that many in reality. Quite a legacy.

This is a picture of Troy's immediate family that was able to make it to the funeral.