My Grandaddy Grady
By: Jim ~ January 14, 2000
If you knew GrandaddyGrady as well as we all did,
you would understand the incredible respect people
had for our grandfather. He was uncommonly kind
and generous, even in his own day when people were
so much more decent to each other than they are now.
I often brag about him and I am sure people who hear
me think, "Well, everyone says those things about their
own grandfather." Much like everyone thinks their
daughter should win the beauty contest. But the thing
about our grandfather is that we are not exaggerating
when we talk about him the way we do. He was a
special, one-of-a-kind man. I remember driving to the
cemetery from the funeral home and looking behind me
to see the stretch of cars reaching back for miles.
People all over came to say goodbye to him. To this
day, people still come up to me and tell me that they
knew my grandfather and thought so much of him. I try
to carry on his legacy, not doing a very good job of it
most of the time, but I try.
Recently my wife and I were driving to a football game
in Opp, and out in the middle of nowhere and in near
darkness, we saw this poor young guy, carrying two of
his kids and pulling along the other two behind, right
next to the road. He had broken down and had his young
children with him and without anyone to stay with the
kids in the car, he had to haul them along the side of the
dangerous highway to find a phone. No one else seemed
to care much. They just kept speeding by, going wherever
they had to go. So I turned around and let him use my cell
phone to call someone. It was a very small and painless
thing to do for someone, and I just did it without thinking
about it. Before we left, the guy asked if everyone in Troy
was as nice as us. I told him that I couldn't vouch for people
in Troy, for I did what I did because of my Needmore
roots, my GrandaddyGrady's home. Also, my wife never
knew him, and maybe somehow I was demonstrating his
legacy to her. So even if the rest of the this lazy,
self-centered world has decided to go to the dogs, that won't
be any excuse for me to do the same. My Granddaddy Grady
would be way too disappointed in me. I'm not perfect, but at
least I have a great role model to use that I will never outgrow.
Written by Jim - the only one to carry on our
family name. Grady
and Ruth had only two sons,
and only one of them has a son, Jim.
He wrote this for our MyFamily site.
Note: Jim and his wife Joy, have a baby son,
Jaxen Grady Lunsford, born in February, 2002.
The name is carried forward.
The words below, were written early this year
by Grady's oldest grandson, now living in California
but only until he finishes his residency
then he will be returning to "Sweet Home Alabama".
This was also on our MyFamily site
and written in regard to our Christmas
memories many were writing about.
It is a wonderful tribute to his Grandaddy
and Grandmother however, so I have decided to
place it here as well. Grady would be so proud
of both these young men and how they remember him.
Memories
By: Rod ~ Feb 13, 2000
I've called my wife into the room more than once just
to show her instantaneous glimpses of yesteryear in the
photos and commentaries about who we were and what
being a part of a wonderful heritage was all about in a
tiny, rural community named Needmore, Alabama.
So many great segments of the family lineage and
background has been compiled or recounted, and as
someone else mentioned, this is priceless! The first
time I logged on and found Kathy's story of
"Christmas in Needmore", I don't mind telling you all
that tears filled my eyes as my thoughts focused on the
the white, modest farmhouse, filled with family and
close acquaintances, some I saw much more often
than others. The smell of Christmas turkey and ham,
fresh from the slaughter and varieties of vegetables
not too long out of the field and onto your plate, all
compliments of my loving, wonderful grandaddy
and grandmother. Yes, Kathy; I do remember some
whining on my part concerning the 'next' Christmas
gift and who would get it. I also vividly recall being
with my cousins in the wagon going through the back
pasture, pulled along by tractor, with grandaddy at
the wheel and girded on both fenders by his two sons
Jimmy & Foy, my daddy maybe standing on the lift,
and all of us in search of the "perfect" Christmas tree
for the front living room. The grand finale of fireworks
in the front yard, always because grandaddy Grady was
always guilty of thinking of others and had generously
supplied the arsenal with an abundance of pyrotechnic
weapons of fun and excitement (probably either from
Monk's Store or from Vonceil Morgan's). And it always
seemed that Jimmy, Foy, & Lance were selected to
monitor and control fireworks detonation in the
dangerous hands of Rod, Ty, Kathy, Kim, and Scott
(and whoever else felt like they were mature enough to
participate). Now that some twenty years have lapsed
since the last Christmas gathering when both grandparents
were still with us, I would be hard pressed to remember
a single toy or present I was awarded. However, I have
no trouble in my recall of the true joy and pleasure that
my young heart experienced as I reflect on how fortunate
I am to have come from family as ours! Great-grandparents,
uncles & aunts, cousins, many in-laws with everyone
festive, excited, and just plain happy to see each other.
A very selfless Grandmother Ruth, with always a kind
word to say and a gentle hug, as well as the always present
icon we all know as Grandaddy Grady, with whom everyone
wanted to be around and close to - Either one who would
instantaneously give you the shirt from their back if you were
in need, and oftentimes if you weren't. These are the people
I fondly remember, who taught me the template and the
essence of simple, true living and the defining qualities
of GOOD PEOPLE!
Music is "In This Life"
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