My father-in-law died in the wee hours this morning. He was 71. I didn’t really get a chance to say goodbye to him….

Dear Grandpa Ned,

I trust there’s a good Internet connection in Heaven, and that you now have automatic RSS feeds from all your family and friends. So here are a few things I need to tell you.

You were a great father-in-law. I feel so bad for people that hate their in-laws. I’ve been blessed with wonderful in-laws that have become family to me over 16+ years of marriage.

You were a great Dad. You raised a wonderful girl, and two sons with big hearts. Good people all around. You grilled me when I called for permission to marry your daughter, not because you doubted me, but because you love her so much. I hope you think you made the right choice when you said “yes.”

You had a great sense of humor, but came up with the worst puns and one-liners ever. I’ll never hear another terrible pun without thinking of you. In fact, bad jokes are usually referred to as “Ned jokes” in our house. Worst of all, I’ve started picking up your sense of humor. My poor kids…..

You were an amazing grandfather. Not because you gave our kids nice gifts, but because you gave them your time. I don’t know of any other granddad that would call, not to talk to his daughter, but so he could talk to his grandson — sometimes for 20 and 30 minutes — about life, school, sports, you name it. I’ll try to do the same when I have grandkids. You were one of Sean’s best friends. Thank you for that. He took a photo of you into school today for the weekly sharing time they do. He’ll miss you as much as anyone does.

You were a good man. I miss you already.

Your son-in-law,
Matt