He Loved Coconut Cream Pie . . . Saying Goodbye to Grandpa John

You may have noticed I haven't been posting as much as usual this summer, and there's been a good reason for that. My dad, whom we affectionately called Grandpa John, passed away yesterday morning at the ripe old age of 83 after a steep decline that began in July. I was spending some time with him everyday and I am so glad I had the opportunity to do so.

He was a really sweet guy. Kind of a quiet man, he loved opera music, the Detroit Tigers (one of his favorite phrases was, "Don't let the Tigers break your heart!"), difficult crossword puzzles, his grandsons Charlie and Nathan, and he never could resist a fluffy slice of coconut cream pie.

He's back with my mom now, I like to think, and I'll bet they're probably holding hands and smiling, somewhere out there in the great beyond. I miss him already.

I am looking forward to baking again very soon, and hope to be back in the blogging saddle again in a week or so. I may just have to make a nice coconut cream pie . . .

(I took the photo above--my dad's last picture--on Monday, August 29th, with my cell phone. He's shown there with Charlie, my 18-year old.)