My Papa

Papa is my grandfather on my mother's side. His name is Verle J LaBrue. I have countless memories of him and Nana. They were a big part of our lives. Papa grew up on a farm in Oklahoma. He was a member of the Reorganized church, so our family has some interesting beginnings with the church.

He was a very good looking soldier who stole Nana's heart. They had a short engagement, and he was off to war. If I have the story correct, he never actually made it overseas because as he was actually boarding the bus, they announced the war was over!

Papa is a jeweler. He repaired watches, and clocks too. He amazes me with how small of detail he can see and work with. He had a shop in his basement, and I loved to go in there and watch him work. Their home was filled with LOTS of clocks all over the house-all different ones that Papa had fixed. We are fortunate enough to have a family heirloom that he fixed up for me to have in my home.

Papa is a fun loving, easy going man. He loved to play with us, and to take us places. If they were not at our house for a special occasion, we were at theirs. He was an easy grandfather to love.

I don't have many memories of Papa that don't include Nana. They went hand in hand. They did everything together. I came to love and respect him at an early age as I saw how much he cared for his wife. He served her tirelessly, and happily their whole life together. I truely learned from his example what unconditional love is all about. He is such a generous and loving man! They loved to play music together. Papa played the guitar. When I started playing the Bass, he was so excited. He tried to teach me guitar, but it didn't take.

The Camper is a big memory for me. Something that sticks out in my mind is Papa driving it through the winding mountain roads. He always seemed so comfortable behind the wheel. I loved to sit in the seat next to him and have a chance to talk to him. More than likely I did most of the talking, Papa is a great listener. He had 8 track tapes in to listen to- John Denver sticks out in my mind the most.

Last summer when we visited, Papa cleaned out the camper so that my kids could sleep in it one last time before it was sold. It was so cool to share this with them. They loved it. I wish that we could have taken it home with us.

I looked up to Papa so much, so as I young girl I wanted to do something special for him. I drew this picture of Papa and made up a poem too. It is a little corny, but he thought it sounded great.

Papa has always been a good example to me of hard work. He always would come to our house and fix things! Something I love about Papa is the twinkle in his eyes. You can see his loving heart and giving spirit right through his smile.

He has several great grandchildren now who all love him just as much as we do. We all feel his special spirit. I love and admire him so much. I am thankful for his example of loyalty, and love. I love you Papa!