In Remembrance..

Today would have been my Grandpa Gentry’s 87th birthday. He passed away just over a month ago on May 11, 2011. I have not had a chance to write about him, and I feel like it might help me right now. My Grandpa Gentry was very special to me. He was the only grandparent I really knew, and felt really close to. He was the only grandparent I had left. He will always have a special place in my heart. I knew he was always such a great man, but after attending his funeral, I had more of an understanding of what a great man he truly was. He was always such a great example to those around him, and so many spoke so highly of him.


I am so thankful that he was musical. Now you all know where my Dad gets it, his Dad! He was asked to sing all over the place. I cannot imagine my life without music and that all started in our family because of both sets of Grandparents who passed that onto their kids, who passed it onto their kids.


My Grandpa is one of my heroes. He always told us his war stories, but at his funeral, I received a CD with him telling them. I will cherish this forever. It truly is a miracle he lived through World War II. I am so thankful for his service to this country, and wish I could have expressed that more to him while he was here.

His humor defined the “Grandpa Gentry” all of us Grandchildren knew. He always talked about the kitty in his pocket. My brother Christian put it well saying he is a “catalog of sound effects.” He told my Aunt Dayna when she was a little girl that he had a sore on his finger because he put it up his nose and a booger bit it. Another quick story that was told was a time when my Grandpa, Uncle Paul and another person went camping. My grandpa had him load up about 10 camping chairs and there were only a few people going. Paul questioned why there were so many chairs, but my Grandpa told him not to argue and said that everything had a purpose. They got to the camp site and started setting up the chairs. Grandpa told Paul to put them all around the fire. When it came time to sitting around the fire that night, the smoke started following them. Instead of picking up a chair and moving away from the smoke, he got up and moved to the next chair over. This continued the rest of the night. Another part of a camping trip was when they were loading things up and pulled some old camping cups out. One of my Uncles asked if they should clean the cups out because of bugs, my Grandpa told him it was okay and there were no bugs in them. When my Uncle picked up a cup, there was a spider and a web in one of the cups. He showed it to my Grandpa and he said "Well that's in there to keep the bugs out!" I loved his quick witted humor.

His little movie star…. This is what I will always remember. Because of this picture, my Grandpa Gentry called me his little movie star from this age, until the last time I saw him a year and a half ago. 

I will miss being called this, and will always be his little movie star. When I see him again, I hope he will greet me like he always did “There’s my little movie star!”


I am so thankful for the Plan of Salvation. If I did not have this in my life, I don’t know how I could get through times like these. I am thankful that I know he is with his sweet little redhead Lilly again. He had the deepest love for his wife. I am thankful that I know I will get to see him again, and that life doesn’t just end here on earth. I love you Grandpa. You will be missed by many, but never forgotten.

-Your little movie star.

I had to put the song "In Remembrance" up. I sang this arrangement several times in choir, and it touches my heart every time I hear it.