The Van Lohs: 2007 In Review: May

MAY

On Monday, May 7th, I said goodbye to my Grandpa Norgaard for the last time. As providence would have it, I had a court hearing in Fairmont, Minnesota on May 7th which was more than half-way to Sioux Falls, South Dakota where my grandpa was recovering at the V.A. Hospital after recently breaking his hip. I spontaneously decided to continue driving to Sioux Falls knowing that I would say good-bye to Grandpa.

When I arrived, Grandpa was, for the most part, non-responsive, but clearly was able to understand those speaking to him. I took this time to "clear the air" about some alleged childhood mischief Grandpa had attributed to me. When I was about 10 years old, Grandpa insisted that he saw me on top of the dome of one of three 75 foot silos on the family farm. To this day, I don't know if Grandpa actually thought that I was on top of the dome (I think he did) or he wanted everybody to think I was up there. Either way, I took this one final opportunity to pull myself close to Grandpa's ear and assure him that I was never on top of that silo! As I pulled back, I could feel him squeeze my hand and give a small "wink" assuring me that he heard me. I have wondered since if this wink was as if to say, "I know, Dan....I got you, didn't I!"

My Grandpa was a proud World War II Veteran. His funeral was made complete by 18 local VFW Vets attending the funeral, escorting his flag-draped casket out of the church to the congregation singing "The Battle Hymn of the Republic." This was a moving tribute on two accounts, one, the commitment to the VFW Vets to honoring one of their fallen colleagues as well as a tribute to Grandpa's undying patriotism.