Grandpa's Funeral

Grandpa Cheeseman's funeral was held Thursday, March 5th at the Woods on Ninth. It was a small service, Dad conducted, and there were probably about 20 of us there. Nikki read Grandpa's Life Journal, Aunt Judy spoke, the Hair kids, Heather, Josh and I sand "I Know That My Redeemer Lives", Dad spoke and then it was open for anyone to share memories of Grandpa. It was a nice short service, not too many tears were shed, we tried to keep it uplifting. Leave it to my boys to both lighten the mood as well as send me out with lots of tears.
I was the last one to share my memories of Grandpa. As I stood from my seat Josh was holding Braxton behind me. As I was sharing Braxton decided to rip one. Everyone kind of chuckled and I looked back at him so no one would think it was me. I finished what I had to say and just before Uncle Chuck said the closing prayer he tooted again so loud that I hid my face in Heather's shirt. I didn't know a little boy could make such sounds. That one got everyone laughing really loud and also sent his onsie straight into the trash can!
As everyone was starting to filter out, I told Trenton that they were going to wheel Grandpa's casket away and that he was on his way to Kansas to be buried. I explained this was the last time we were going to see Grandpa so if he wanted to say good-bye one more time now was the time. He walked to the casket and lightly put his little hand on the side and kissed it. Both Dad and I lost it as my sweet little boy gave his Papa one more love. I am so grateful that he had a chance to know his Papa and that he understands that we have the chance to be together as a family again. He talks of everyone "coming alive again" quite frequently, and I am so glad that he has that faith.
Because this blog is going to serve as our family journal, I have decided to add Grandpa's life story that was read at the funeral...this way I will not loose it!
George Edgar Cheeseman was born November 17, 1917 in Lenora, Kansas.
Ed was born to Leroy Orville Cheeseman and Carrie Jessie (Kent) Cheeseman at the family farm. Over the years the family moved in and around the Lenora area, with his father working in the bank, owning a small grocery store in Almena, and working at the local co-op. He used to tell us about delivering groceries to people using his little wagon. He also delivered milk for 5 cents. They were even in Orange, California for nine months from 1925-1926 until his mother Jessie got so homesick that they moved back to Lenora. Ed graduated from Lenora High School in 1935. He then left for Topeka Kansas for a year of school at a business college. He lived with his grandfathers adopted son, Will Richards and his family during that time. He had a girlfriend named Ruby that everyone thought sure he was going to marry.
Ed related to his children that they never suffered during the depression. They had a couple of milk cows, chickens, fruit trees, a garden and a roof over their head. A far different story than Virginia, the city girl, told.
When his schooling in Topeka was done he went back to Lenora and worked at the co-op for awhile and eventually decided to go to Wichita to seek his fortune. There he met his future wife Virginia Katheleen (Wood) Cheeseman. They were married on February 7th, 1941 in Wichita, Kansas.
Their first child, Judy, was born on June 16, 1942. In December 1945 they had their first son, Kenneth, who did not live. In January 1952 they had their second son that was still born. On May 27th, 1955 they had their third son, G. Edgar Cheeseman, Jr. He was alive and healthy. They were elated to finally have the son they had waited so many years for.
Ed worked at Culver Aircraft during WWII as a bookkeeper in Wichita. After the war was over he was one of the last employees laid off. Judy remembers the day he was laid off when he came home and told Virginia he had been fired. Judy, at four, was so upset because she thought it meant he was fired with a match.
After the war was over and servicemen were coming home they were asked to leave the house they were renting because the owner was coming home. They made plans to move to a four-plex. There was a possession problem so they moved all of their belongings into the garage to wait for the old tenants to move out. While they waited some boys, playing with matches in an adjoining garage set all four of the attached garages on fire and everything was lost.
After Culver Aircraft shut down in 1947 there were no jobs to be had in Wichita. There were 10 people for every available job. Uncle Robert and Aunt Minnie Thompson, living in Portland Oregon, wrote them that there were plenty of jobs to be had there, so come on up and stay with them until he could find a job. He took them up on their offer and was offered two jobs in Portland. One was with United Airlines and the other with UPS. We all know how that turned out. Virginia and Judy joined him in July 1947 in Portland, they found a little house they wanted to buy and Uncle Robert and Aunt Minnie loaned them the money to purchase it.
Ed was transferred by UPS to the Los Angles office in 1960. They got a little apartment in Rosemead California for about nine months until they could decide where they wanted to purchase a home. They bought a home in Monterey Park in May 1961.
Ed retired from UPS in the summer of 1975 after 28 years. He served as an accountant, auditor and at his retirement was the Assistant Regional Controller for the Western U.S. He was very proud of UPS and lit up every time he saw a truck go by.
After retirement he purchased a travel trailer and became a "snowbird" at Val Vista Village in Mesa, AZ. Nevix and Andy had a unit very close to them so they could play cards day and night if they wanted. They enjoyed their company for many winters in AZ.
Ed started learning leather work from scratch while in Mesa. He started with the basic tools that Ed Jr. had obtained while in the Boy Scouts, and expanded upon them. He eventually ended up teaching leather work to many other park residents for many years.
Ed and Virginia moved from the home in Monterey Park to a condo in La Mirada in the spring of 1982. That proved to be too small for Virginia so in the summer of 1985 they moved from the condo to a large two story, four bedroom house in La Mirada, CA.
During their retirement they traveled extensively, including cruises to Scandinavia and a trip with Nevix and Andy to the Far East. One of the stories that Ed always told was taking the King's helicopter in Katmandu, Nepal up into the mountains to a village where everybody lived underground. The people all came out to greet the helicopters when they arrived.
In the spring of 2002 they decided it was just too hard to go back and forth anymore so they reluctantly sold their trailer. It was a good decision because in August of 2002 Virginia fell and subsequently passed away on October 28th, 2002.
Over the next five years, Robyn and Dad established a tradition of going to Carl's Jr. for "Hamburger Day" every Wednesday. That also included anyone else from the Cheeseman, Jr. household that could make it.
Ed moved to SLC in April of 2007. Kim kept up the "Hamburger Day" tradition with many funny stories to relate to the family of her lunch with Grandpa.
Ed took very good care of his children and grandchildren financially. This allowed them to purchase homes, repair homes, take trips and provide schooling, etc. for their families. He was very generous.
He loved his family very much and especially found joy in the small children. His face would light up when the small great-grandchildren came to visit. Of course, his face would light up when you brought him candy and treats too.
He fell in his apartment on Sunday, January 4th, 2009 and wasn't discovered until 12 hours later. After that his health declined even more rapidly, and he passed away February 26th, 2009 in Sandy, Utah.
I loved my Grandpa and still do love him very much and am so grateful that he lived a long and full life. I am very grateful for his generosity and gentle smile. I love you Grandpa.