My mom gave me my granddads old lighter for Father’s Day. This will be a true treasure.
His initials are on the front of the Whirlwind Ronson lighter.
My grandmother gave him this lighter on their wedding day. He quit smoking a short time later after they were married.
After several months of suffering, my granddad, Deryl Perry Knotts, finally found peace Tuesday morning around 3:45 a.m.
For those of you who may have missed the updates via Twitter or Facebook, Granddad had surgery in mid-November to take care of a hernia he had been dealing with most of his life. He never opted to have it corrected, he just simply dealt with it (this hernia was on top of the recent discovery that he had bone cancer that had spread through most of his body). The pain from the hernia had became to unbearable and the doctors told him he’d either starve himself to death or they’d have to risk the surgery. He opted to take the chance on surgery in order to spend more time with his beloved family.
Quite frankly, I didn’t expect him to make it through the surgery – but he did and began the rough road to recovery. In fact many times over the last few months I haven’t even known what to pray. It’s been repeated moments of “God just take away his pain – however you choose to do it.” Every bit of me wanted him to be healed completely and return to a normal life — and if God wanted to work a miracle, I trusted he can and could do it — but I also saw what I felt was the reality of the situation.
The road was rough and he had many ups and downs throughout. There were days we were just certain he wouldn’t make it much longer and then days of joy when it really seemed it might be able to power through.
He finally made it out of the hospital and into a rehabilitation/nursing center in mid-January. His spirits were often low but he seemed to be making progress. Unfortunately the progress wasn’t enough for the nursing center and they said they’d have to let him go.
So in early February, my mom and dad moved him into their house to care for him 24/7. I honestly don’t know how my mom (and dad) did it for so long — except that her own father had lived his life leading by example and giving unconditionally to those he loved.
As the days turned into weeks, it seemed like Granddad might really rally and might even get the strength to walk again. But sadly the rally was short lived and on Monday, March 9, he took a turn for the worst. He lost most of his strength and simply wanted to stay in bed and sleep.
I saw him last on March 11 and had hoped to get one more interview about his life out of him. He was simply to tired and to weak to talk. He knew I was there as I sat and held his hand for some time. He asked how I was doing and asked about Laurie (he always wanted to be sure she was doing well and OK). But other then those few questions, his speech was very mumbled and he went in and out of sleep as I sat there.
On Sunday, March 15, my sister said she didn’t know how much longer he could make it and on Monday, Mom gave word that the Hospice nurse had come and taken him off his regular meds and moved him to a “comfort pack” to ease any suffering.
Tuesday morning, around 5:15 a.m., I talked with mom and she informed me that Granddad’s pain was no more. I’ve known for several months that this time was coming but it still doesn’t make it any easier.
He was a gracious and giving man and made friends everywhere he went. He had a strong, quiet faith and was never loud or boisterous about it. He simply lived out what (I believe) it means to be a Follower of the Way in the simple day-to-day things. If the Kingdom of God really is about giving of yourself for others, Granddad worked everyday to bring God’s Kingdom and Heaven to earth.
Whether it was entertaining a grandson’s entrepreneurial idea to start a baseball card shop in his shed, or always having cookies and ice cream awaiting our visit, or loaning his grandson his new car when a big event came up, he always worked hard to make life easier for those around him. His family was his ministry and he did it with all his might.
I truly hope that while my name reflects his, my life does even more.
We’ll miss you Granddad but we rejoice in the peace that passes all understanding and knowing that we will meet again.
related: Granddad’s page on our Family Wiki