My Pappy- Blaine William Thompson

January 14, 1928 – May 30, 2010

On May 30, 2010 my pappy passed away.  My sisters, James, Marlie, Lyla, and I were all in PA on that day and were very thankful to all be together.   Pappy struggled with many illnesses in his lifetime and never complained about anything.  Every time I saw him he had a big smile on his face.  He spent the evening before he died at his youngest sons home eating shrimp on the grill and spending time with their family.  This is the last picture we all will have of Nanny and Pappy.  So, glad that my cousins took it.  He died peacefully in his bed at home.  No better way to go if you ask me.

We hadn’t visited with him and Nanny yet on this trip.  We were having a bonfire, which he loved, at our house the evening he died and were very anxious to see him.  Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see him but we did enjoy a wonderful night with all our family.  He would have wanted us to have our bonfire and we did!  We all attended his Memorial Service the following Saturday.  He would have been so proud at how wonderful the service was.  Since he was a veteran it was also a military service.  Marlie wasn’t sure why they were shooting the guns so my mom told her that they did it so Pappy could hear us and know we were there.  We had a great day with all of our family celebrating and remembering the great life that Pappy lived.

Let me back track and tell you a little bit about my Pappy.  He was the youngest of 4 children, 3 of them being boys.  He was in the U.S. Army and served in the Korean War and WWII.  He married my Nanny, Betty Lou Knupp, on June 1, 1952.  They were married 57 years and 2 days away from making it 58 years.  Wow!  I hope to be like them one day.    They stood by each other ugh all tthrough all the illnesses they both struggled through.  You could tell that they truly loved each other.  They had 6 children in under 6 1/2 years.  I always ask Nanny what she was thinking!  They had 3 boys first, 2 girls, and then finished with another boy.  Pappy was a very avid deer hunter and fisherman.  He hunted every year with my dad and we have some great photos of them with their deer.  Pappy also loved ice cream!!  I can remember going to their house and he would always have some kind of ice cream in the freezer.  He got me hooked on coffee ice cream at an early age.  Maybe that’s why I love coffee so much.   Nanny and Pappy also had a campground at Big Bear Lake in West Virginia.  We went there every summer to visit them.  Sometimes they would even take a bunch of the grandkids and let us spend the week with them.  We would either sleep in the bunk beds of the camper or in a tent.  We always had a fire burning and Pappy would let us help him put the wood on.  We played mini golf, went to the water slides, and the beach while we were there.  These are some great memories that I will always remember.  Nanny and Pappy have 16 grandkids (8 boys and 8 girls), and 2 great granddaughters.  Pappy loved all of his grandkids and great granddaughters.  This picture was taken over Thanksgiving while I was pregnant with Lyla.  It’s the last one that I have with Pappy and I in it but it’s only one of the many we have!  I’m so thankful that we have so many pictures throughout the years.  Pappy and Marlie were good buddies.  I made sure to send pictures as often as I could so Nanny and Pappy could see her growing.  After we had Lyla I sent them pictures of her too.  Marlie, Lyla, and I took a last minute trip to PA at the end of March.  Lyla was only 6 weeks old and Marlie was potty training so it took 15 hours to get there.  My poor, gracious dad lugged us up there and we drove back with him four days later on another 15 hour trip.  Pappy got to meet little Lyla and I’m so thankful for that.  He kept saying how sweet she was and he could not believe that she was so good and never made a sound.  Look at the sweet picture I have of them!  We all think that Lyla looks just like the Thompson’s, especially Pappy.  I will never forget the last time we visited with him.  He was all smiles as he held Lyla and taught Marlie how to wink.   Marlie loves Pappy.  She will occasionally get in her Little Tykes Car and tell me she’s going to Pennsylvania to visit Nanny and Pappy.  It’s been very hard explaining to her that Pappy is in heaven and we can’t see him anymore.  The day he died everyone kept crying and she was, of course, trying to cheer us all up.  She kept saying, “It’s ok.  We can see him tomorrow” and she even told Nanny that we could take an airplane up to heaven to see him.  If only we could really do that!!   She’s been so sweet through it all.  My mom taught her the song, Blue Skies and Rainbows, and every time we sing the word, heaven, she looks at me like she knows that’s where Pappy is.  She was in the car with Annie and I a few days after Pappy died and while she was looking out the window she said, “I wonder what Pappy’s doing up there?”  She waves to him in the sky when we’re outside and sings at the top of her lungs so he can hear her.  I have taught her that when it thunders out it’s the angels bowling in heaven.  When it was thundering on Sunday she said, “I wish we could go watch Pappy bowl.”  I agree!  Yesterday, she was very curious about where Pappy is.  She really wanted to write him a letter but instead we wrote Nanny one.  I heard her saying as she was writing, “Dear God.  Take care of Pappy.”  I think she’s starting to understand, as well as a 2 year old can, that Pappy is in a very happy place right now.  Don’t we all want to get there one day?  Pappy is definitely in a very happy and beautiful place.  For selfish reasons I wish he were still here with us but know that he had suffered enough and deserves to rest peacefully.  I’m glad to have all the memories I have with him and will always treasure them.  Pappy will always be in my heart.   I will love him and miss him always.  He truly was a great man that loved his family with all his heart.