The Cycle of Life

This week my sweet little 92 year old grandpa passed away. It was a sad time, but it was so special to get to be with him in the final moments before he passed on. As we were sitting around his hospital bed, holding his hand and comforting him, I got to learn more about him... I thought it would be fun to share a little bit about him.

Charles Artie Bell grew up in South Texas. He and his 9 siblings were dirt poor. They lived in a 2 bedroom house in the country. Boys slept outside and they girls slept inside. To the Bell kids, this was a mansion. These little kids ran barefoot, dodging copperheads, all over the sandhills of TX. He was born with a cleft palate and at the age of 8 or 9, his big sister paid for him to have surgery to fix it. The kids had to walk 5 miles to school and back each day. Maybe this is where his running began. He was very athletic, played football and ran track. His senior year of highschool he was named most athletic boy in the class.

Even though his family was poor, they didn't look for handouts from anyone. They didn't let a lack of funds stop them. Most of the siblings with to college, paying their way through. Grandpa went to Texas Lutheran, then decided to go out to Pepperdine in Malibu. He hitchhiked from TX to CA and worked his way through college where he excelled in track. His days of running through the sandhills, trudging to school paid off for him. He was strong. Not just big-muscle strong - but strong in heart & will. He lived through the depression and later went on to fight in World War II (which if you asked him later in life, after dementia set in - he won by himself) and marry my grandma. (This is my favorite story - she was 15 he was 25. He drove by her walking down a dusty road and said, that's the girl I am going to marry. And they lived happily ever after). He went on to raise 4 kids, moving them all over the world as he served in the military.

My clearest memories of him revolve around my grandma. She had polio when she was young and by the time I came around, she had post-polio syndrome. My grandpa took excellent care of her. Lifting her in and out of her wheelchair, doing all of the household chores - ALL with a smile on his sweet face. He loved her unconditionally, in good times and in bad. I remember going to their house for holidays and he would get up before any of us to do his "exercises" in the house (usually a bunch of calisthenics and would run laps around the living room / kitchen). I remember him making stew and cornbread for us. I remember him building the coolest treehouse ever and letting us walk on the roof with him (pretty cool when you are 7 years old!) A few years ago, while his second wife, Helen, was in the nursing home. He decided to walk 3.5 miles home from the nursing home on a blistering hot day just to see if he could still do it. The state of TX wanted to take away his driver's license and he knew he still needed to get to the nursing home each day.

It had been awhile since I had seen papa. I got married, moved away and with the craziness of life, hadn't made it back to Texas in about 4 years. He was suffering from dementia and the aches and pains of old age. I will forever treasure the last day and a half I got to spend by his hospital bed. While he wasn't lucid, I think he knew I was there with him. I am so happy for him that he is finally free and able to be once again with that girl he fell in love with on the dusty road in Burkburnett, TX.

On Sunday morning, my sweet grandpa went home. I think he probably stopped by South Texas on his way to revisit his childhood and take one last run through the sandhills. Due to his years of military service, we had full military honor at the funeral - which was stunning. The family asked me to take a few pics, which I included.