In Memory

Robert "Pete" Petersen

My grandpa passed away on Friday evening. He'd been sick for very long time, and I'm glad he's out of pain now. But I will miss him. He was so strong. He was a rock in my life - always consistant, always there. Here are a few things that I loved about him:

He adored my grandmother. There were married for over 50 years before she passed away in 1996. On their 50th wedding anniversary, when they were posing for a picture with my grandpa's arm around her shoulder, my grandpa reached his arm around further to try to grab my grandma's you-know-what! My grandma yelled and slapped his hand away while my grandpa just grinned. I remember hearing them bicker back and forth at the dinner table, but it was really just a game with them. I hope I have a relationship with my husband like theirs.

He was a smooth talker. He loved to flirt with the ladies. My grandma just shook her head at him. Even in the last three years when he'd been in the nursing home, he flirted with each and every one of the nurses. I think he just liked to make them smile and feel special.

He loved to golf, and each of his kids grew up golfing (my uncle Rob is a pro golfer who works at a golf course in Missouri) and in turn both of my brothers grew up golfing (I never took it up - too frustrating for me, but I love watching them and walking with them on the courses). Once, he made a hole-in-one at the golf course in Clay Center, NE and made it into the paper. He told them that people might have thought he lied about it... if he didn't happen to be golfing with the sheriff!

He had a major presence around him. He might have been fairly soft spoken, but he laughed loudly, sneezed really loudly, and snored even louder.

He loved his kids and grandkids and greatgrandkids dearly. I remember watching him during my uncle's wedding two years ago. He was the best man, and afterward as we were standing around waiting to go to the reception and there he was, in his wheelchair with tears streaming down his face. I think he was just so happy to still be around to see Rob get married.

He absolutely loved the Nebraska Cornhuskers. I remember watching games with him where he would yell so loudly and jump up so quickly that he'd hit his head on the ceiling (they weren't that tall, but he also was a big guy). In fact, on Friday, he and my dad were watching the Colorado game. They watched through the entire thing and all of the post-game commentary, and when that was through, he had a heart attack. I'm so glad that he got to see the last regular season game of the year. Pretty typical of my grandpa.

I'll miss you.