05/26/2026
*When you receive the sweetest note from a great patriot 🇺🇸😘……
Memorial Day to all who have served and sacrificed for our freedom 🙏🏻🇺🇸 It’s easy to take that freedom for granted day to day, but it truly is something priceless.
This year feels especially meaningful for our family as we celebrated our (Great) Pop-Pop…who just turned 97 years young 🎉 and reflected on the incredible life he’s lived.
During the Korean War, he served at the Bering Strait interpreting Russian radio signals for U.S. forces. Because of his service, he was able to attend Swarthmore College on the GI Bill — an opportunity that changed the course of his life. (Most importantly because a detour in the road eventually led him back to our grandmother…but that’s a whole other story 😘)
He was the youngest of 8 children, growing up in a family that lost everything during the Great Depression, so being able to go to college was no small thing.
From there, he built what people often call the “American Dream” of that generation — working his way up through the corporate world over decades to eventually serve on the executive board of his company. But honestly, the titles and accomplishments aren’t what stay with us most…
What we cherish most is the perspective he and our grandmother gave us simply through how they lived: resilience, humility, loyalty, humor, commitment, and appreciation for the little things. We know how rare and special it is to have had such a close relationship with our grandparents well into our 40s. That kind of love and wisdom shapes you forever.
And this Memorial Day carries an extra layer of emotion, because for the first time, we aren’t all together in Maine…but we’ll carry this special place, and all the memories made there, forward with us always.
Life changes. Time moves. But the stories, sacrifices, memories, and love stay with us.
Today we remember all those who served and all the families forever connected to that sacrifice ❤️
