Grandpa Duzett

My Grandpa Duzett sadly passed away on January 26th. It was something no one was expecting. We left Utah on January 3rd from Christmas break, the day we left he was working hard helping to remodel my Aunts kitchen. On the 5th he went in for some minor surgery that should have been simple and uneventful. He ended up developing some blood clots and internal bleeding. It was hard being so far away from home and only hearing bits and pieces of what was going on but in the end it was his time to go, he was in a lot of pain towards the end. I never thought leaving a short three weeks earlier that that would be the last time we saw him alive. He commented to me before we flew out that he still needed to come and see where we lived, well he can see now, just not the way we wanted him too! We are grateful for the Gospel and to be an eternal family and know that we will see him again! I am going to steal my sisters idea from her blog and write down some fun memories I have of him, I have many other some personal that I have written in my journal.

*He was a hard worker and growing up watch him build many things. He was a perfectionist when it came to his carpentry work but it meant everything he helped build was perfect. He built the house I grew up in, my parents moved in 26 years ago Valentines day!

*Shortly after I had Ella, I think she was about 4 months I was home for a visit and he said to me that we needed to work on getting some more boys into the family, well little did anyone or myself know that I was pregnant with little Easton and 4 other little boys followed right after!

*He was a big tease! I loved to tease him back. I always from the time I could remember have played the tap on the opposite shoulder so they look the other way trick on him! It would drive him nuts! I played it on him again this past new years eve and he turned to me and said "Heather, your still doing that?!"

*Like my sister said I will never forget the many BBQ's and family parties we had where he would stand over the hot grill in the heat of the summer and cook our burgers!

*He was such a simple person. He loved Chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream, there was never a need to ask what he wanted when other options were available, that is what he wanted!

*He loved pancakes! While in Utah for his funeral I remembered this little fact and now I know where Ella gets her pancake loving from!

*He had an incredible memory and would often tell us stories of growing up in Emery, Utah and stories of when he fought in the Korean War.

And one last thing stolen from my sister but one of my most fond memories - I will never forget going with him and some cousins down to the church to make sure it was all locked up. My cousins and I would follow him around the building locking and turning out lights. Our favorite thing was to turn on a light that he had turned off so when we got outside he would look up and say, "hey I thought I turned that light off". We would all have a good giggle. He
eventually learned to not let us back in the building.

When we heard he had passed Andrew was lucky enough to be able to come home from school and luckily wasn't with a patient when I called to tell him. We quickly got to work getting tickets for Ella and I. Ella, Easton, and I were on a plane 36 hrs later on Saturday the 28th. Luckily I got a direct flight and so there was no running from one gate to another. I was so nervous to fly with the kids by myself but was blessed to get the only empty seat on that plane of 180 that day next to me! I was able to buckle Easton in from time to time to give both of us a break. Ella and Easton were both really good going which I am grateful for, thank heavens for fruit snacks, animal crackers, and sippable applesauce!

The viewing was the next night. It was amazing the support that my Grandma received. I enjoyed talking and seeing relatives I don't see very often. My kids were so tired by the end of it but the did pretty well.

Sitting outside the room where the viewing was.

The line went out the door to the outside at one point so they had to redirect it so no one was out in the cold. There were so many pretty arrangements.

The next day, Monday, was the Funeral. It was a nice tribute to my Grandpa. All of my grandpa's children and grandchildren sang "Lord I would Follow Thee." Each of his children spoke and gave great tributes to him. It was great to be able to celebrate his life and the person he was!

My little brother and three boy cousins all drove/rode in his truck behind the hearse, those boys loved their Grandpa!

Here is all the pallbearers waiting to move the casket, luckily Easton fell asleep on the way to the cemetery so we left him in the car!

He had military presence there to honor him

My grandma might not like this picture when she sees it but I loved that I could see her in it while they were folding up the flag.

My mom said the girl who gave her the flag said some words, I'm not sure what they say but it seemed to be pretty profound.The guys putting their flowers on the casketI might get in trouble from my little brother Spencer for some of these pictures but I just love how sweet these boys are, it affected them pretty hard. Spencer and Ben found my Grandpa's work gloves in his truck and thought it would be fitting to place them on the casket as well.

Ella was done, it was nap time, past lunch time but she did so well during the funeral and at the cemetery. It was freezing and very muddy, we came home with lots of mud on our shoes!We had a nice luncheon back at the church. This is all of my cousins. It has been years since we have all been together, it was so nice. We are standing oldest to youngest. My Grandma came running, literally running to get in the middle of the picture.

All the GrandsonsAll the Granddaughters, obviously I can see why my grandpa thought we needed more boys!All the Grand kids and spouses and Great grand kids. The only people missing was Andrew in Mississippi and my cousin Brent's wife Emily in London. My cousin Brent was nice enough to hold Easton for me it was the first time he had met Easton since it has been almost two years since I have seen him. My Grandpa's siblings Cal, Marjorie, and Courtney

My aunt Janae, my mom, my grandma, aunt LeAnn, and Uncle Todd

The kids were so happy to be done and be able to play around in the gym!I stole this from my sister it was the last picture she took of him on New Years day after she blessed her baby. I imagine he was laughing at one of his jokes!I also came across this picture the other day of my grandparents with me on Ella's blessing day.