June 17th was Father's Day. I ended up spending most of the day at the hospital. The night before Grandpa took a spill down the stairs to the basement. Grandpa had a tendency to be a little accident prone so when my Mother called I was un-surprised. However, Mom usually doesn't call if it's not an emergency so I got dressed and ran up to the hospital. I was able to see Grandpa and give him a hug and kiss before he went into surgery for a broken femur. He looked pretty beat up, but he was cracking jokes, and saying inappropriate things to the little nurses. Needless to say he was feeling pretty much ok. He wasn't doing ok though, his blood pressure was really low and they couldn't get it up. They were waiting for a while to do the surgery, but decided to go along with it anyway. Traci and I ended up staying the whole time with Grandma waiting for Grandpa to get out of surgery. I also spent some time walking around the hospital with my Mom. In an emergency she's as bad as Jason. She really can't sit still. When he got out of surgery he was in the ICU. They did let Traci and I go see him before we left though. He looked really bad at that point. He was pretty grey. He did just get out of surgery though so we prayed for him hoping everything would get better. The next morning Dad said he'd been up to see him, and he was doing well. However all day I was having panic attacks. I knew something wasn't ok. About 2:30 pm Dad called and said he wasn't looking good so we probably needed to come up to the hospital. When I got there they had taken him to get a CT scan to see why his blood pressure was fluctuating. As soon as we could go see him we did. he looked pretty awful. He couldn't talk because his teeth weren't in. He also had an oxygen mask on. We told him we loved him and then Grandma came in the room to hold his hand. A few times my Aunt tried to get Grandpa to let Grandma go rest, but he clung on to her hand like she was all he wanted. Then the machines went quiet. It was over. My sweet Grandpa was gone. Just like that. I can't tell you how hard that was. My Mom and Aunt and Grandma......just sobbed. It was so odd....there was Grandpa....but yet....not. I will always refer to Grandpa as being here. He is here. He is still our awesome Grandpa that everyone loves. He's just not here. I will see him again, and he will have all the energy that he always wanted to have. I hope that he will keep an eye on my Jason and get him to not hurt himself more then necessary. Mom still hasn't recovered. I think Grandma is doing Ok, but is still grieving. I will miss him. I love him. I will see him again! We are a forever family, and I know he is in paradise telling all the jokes that he ever learned.
LOVE YOU GRANDPA!
Life Legacy
Gerald Gerrard Wilson, used up the last of his 9 lives and left his earthly bonds June 18, 2012 after tumbling down the stairs, where upon telling his wife he was fine and she should go on to bed. Born August 6, 1924 to William Wallace Wilson and Annie Falconer Gerrard. Preceded in death by his parents and siblings; William James, Margaret Susan, Merle Lawanna, and Gale Hubert Wilson and their spouses. Dad had many chances in life to leave this earth, surviving a gunshot wound to the hand as a young boy, a heart attack at age 43 and then another one 20 years later, a heart bypass, a hematoma, a hip replacement and many near misses and a few hits to fingers and finger tips. But dad was true to his Scottish heritage, he was brave, fiercely loyal, and very stubborn! Gerald is survived by his "beautiful bride" of 66 years, Norma Grace Hill Wilson, and their children Julie Ann and Jeff Child, Gerald G. Jr. and Peggy B. Wilson, Nancy Gail and Tim Felman. He found great joy in his posterity and was very proud of his 11 grandchildren and 21 great grandchildren soon to be 24. Gerald is survived by many nieces and nephews who would be glad to share a story or two about their "uncle Juddy." Dad worked hard throughout his life to provide for his family, resulting in a long list of friends and acquaintances. Dad loved to be with his family. Many memories were made with mom and dad while cruising to Alaska and the Caribbean, traveling to Hawaii, Scotland, Jackson Hole and Yellowstone, Arches and Zion Parks, Disneyland and Disney World, driving the motor home cross country through Canada and the United States, and camping and fishing in the Uintahs, where we could always count on dad to share a few bad jokes around the campfire. Although dad's favorite place was home, where he always wanted to "take his old bones." Dad had a woodshop in the back yard where he created countless birdhouses, rocking horses, benches and wishing wells. Count yourself lucky if you have one of his creations, they were not always plumb or square, but they were made with love, and a little blood. We love you dad and grandpa, we will miss your grumpy smile.
Friends may call Friday morning June 22nd from 10:00-11:00 am at Russon Brothers Mortuary, 295 North Main Street, Bountiful Utah. 11:30 am graveside service and interment will follow at Lakeview Memorial Estates, 1640 E Lakeview Dr. Bountiful, Ut.
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