Goodbye Great Grampy.....

Just wanted to dedicate this one to Great Grampy who passed away last Friday. He will be missed greatly. See a copy of the Eulogy from his funeral below.

Grampy 10/27/1908-8/10/2007

Welcome family and friends. Do not be sad today because our Grampy is finally at peace. He would not want us to be sad today but to remember; all the good times we shared with him his witty sense of humor, his charm and his zest for life.

Our Grampy Henry Demarais grew up in Colrain Massachusetts he loved to reminisce about his old home were he lived for over 50 years…he was so proud of all the hard work he put into making his house a loving home. He was one of 11 brothers and sisters with one sister Catherine still living. At the age 12 he had to leave his education behind to work at the mill to help support his family. He did not have the opportunity to finish school past the 6th grade. Henry was brilliant in so many ways and had such practical instinctual wisdom… not the knowledge you get from a textbook but the knowledge you get from working hard though life experiences. He went on to live a very successful life. Henry was a hard working man who took great pride in everything he did. He got married at the age of 27 to a lovely woman named Juanita. After Juanita passed he later remarried a sweet woman named Shirley. Henry and Juanita went on to have 3 beautiful girls Sally, Paula who passed away from colon cancer in 2002, and Sharon. He made a living working in a factory for 50 years known as Kendall Mills located in Colrain. Henry also had a second job on a farm milking cows at night to help support his family. Henry had 6 grandchildren; Billy who passed away in 2004, Vickie, Roxanne, Tim, Freddie, and myself, and 5 great grandchildren, Danielle, Mason, Colin, Connor, and my son Ryan.

Henry kept a tool box in his closet at the Morgan Allen house and would go around repairing things in his apartment. He worked hard his whole life and took pride in everything he did. As time passed by he became unsteady on his feet yet he stood tall and proud refusing the help of others. Even at the tender age of 98, up until a few months ago, he was living completely independently; cleaning his own apartment, making his bed everyday, grocery shopping with Mike and Elaine, fixing himself 2 meals a day, and doing his own laundry (although the last six months mom said that he had a laundry girl to help him but if she was not there right as expected you better believe he was dragging that dirty laundry down the hall to do it himself). He had a closet full of new clothes but insisted on mending his old clothes. He kept a needle and thread and would patch up holes in his pants, sew missing buttons and mend old socks and slippers. This is the kind of man Henry was.

Henry would cruise around Greenfield in his little motorized cart in search of adventure. He would drive his cart to the center of town to Brads for breakfast, to Dunkin Donuts for his donut and cup of coffee and to various nursing homes in the area to visit with old friends. He even got hit by a car 3 times (That we know of, anyways) while cruising around town in his little cart….And each time he got right back up again and hopped back on. That little cart was his independence……his “Rolls Royce”

I often asked myself, “How did Henry stay so young?” It is because he stayed young at heart…his mind was always thinking. He was constantly moving…he loved brisk morning walks or rides in his cart, his afternoon naps, and he loved to dance! And most importantly he loved spending time with family and friends.

One day not long ago while mom and Sally were cleaning out his apartment they found he had put Band aids on the corners of his cabinets…..Sharon and Sally were so puzzled as to why anyone would do such a thing…then they figured it out…Henry had provided himself with padding to shield himself from injury if he fell. And we all know he fell many more times than he cared to admit. This is they type of practical brilliance Henry had.

So on this day PLEASE remember Henry for the proud, independent, hard working gentleman that he was. Although it is not easy to say “Goodbye” Do not feel sad for Henry. God has called upon him to Heaven where he is at peace in his final resting place. Henry’s spirit will live on forever through the lives of everyone he touched with his presence. AMEN. Thank you.