My grandfather's name was Alan Owens, but we always called him Papa. I was ten years old on the day he passed away from cancer.

Papa was very good when it came to working on vehicles. When we needed help with any of our cars, we would go to him and he would teach us how to do it. We would go and make woodwork derby cars and he would help, or just let us borrow his tools. To me, it seemed like he could do anything. Furthermore, he had an amazing job and he was good at doing it. He was a manager for Aqua, controlling and repairing pumps and wells that supply water to all towers, and he was never lazy when he had work to do. Whenever he needed to go help someone with piping underground, he would go to help. He was even told that he did not have to do those things unless it was really necessary, but that did not stop him from lending a hand to his coworkers. I always liked seeing his work computer. He was able to control and see the water levels of all water towers just by looking at his laptop. He would fill up the tower when it got low. However, it was not as easy as it sounds and this job was very important.

We went on the lake a lot with my grandfather. We would always take a boat Papa owned. We loved to jump off of it into the lake, or even attach rafts to the boat and try to stay on the rafts. I never got to go fishing on the boat with my grandfather, but my dad did. It would have been nice to go fishing with him, but I get to see pictures in his house of him and my dad and uncle when they went fishing. This makes me wish that I had been able to enjoy more time with him before he passed away, but I was still very young, and I did not like anything like fishing or working on cars then. If he was still here I would love to get to go fishing with him now.

The doctor said that my grandfather would be able to live one to two years longer if he were to stop smoking and drinking. My grandfather asked why he would want to live longer if he would not be able to continue doing what he loves. He and my dad would always go sit outside and drink a beer on the porch, while my siblings and I would be running around the yard. While they drank that beer, I always thought that one day I would also get to do that and build an adult relationship with my grandfather.

A couple of years after my grandfather got his diagnosis, my parents and my siblings were brought to our grandparents’ house. Everyone looked really sad and we had no idea where my grandfather was as the parents were whispering about something. It was my dad who had to tell me and my siblings and cousins that our grandfather had died that morning. The hardest part was a few days after he passed away.

Now, as I look back, I don't know or remember much about what my grandfather taught me about cars. I never really showed much interest in doing that kind of thing at that age, but now I do, and I still wish he was here to teach me more. I did learn from him that it is not worth living longer if you can’t enjoy it. Also, thanks to my grandfather, I learned the importance of having fun with family, as well as being responsible, hard working and being dedicated. I only wish that I was able to enjoy more of my time with my papa.

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