My grandad would have been 86 today. He was truly a great man. Here is a little message I wrote to be read at his funeral back in 2021.
Personal Reflection – James – Funeral of Douglas Burns, February 2021
Because he was such a magical man to all who met him, it is difficult to put into words the many ways in which Grandad was special to me.
We grandkids used to say that grandad was a Very. Busy. Man. Even after retirement, he was always up to something… whether he was working with other seniors to help them learn computers, building something in the garage, or caring for Nana… he was always BUSY… but all that ‘busy-ness’ belied something very meaningful.
And it is in that ‘busy-ness’ that Grandad showed his amazing example of what it meant to be a good man. And he showed it to everyone. He was always teaching, even if it wasn’t in words – whether that “all work is honourable”, that you cannot comment on other people’s toilet noises, that you should work hard, or what the true meaning of the “for better or worse” vow means.
He was an amazing example to all, but to me, grandad was so much more. And the five grandchildren were extremely lucky to have had him. Every day in our lives, we knew that grandad loved us all unconditionally. Some of my earliest memories are sitting around the dining table at Orchard St for Sunday lunch, him throwing off his Britishness to be goofy and make us laugh. As I got older, he imparted his love for technology, for gardening and for JRR Tolkien.
He was also incredibly kind and thoughtful. The last time we saw grandad, he made a show of taking Bec by the hands and giving a short speech about how he loved her, welcomed her to the family and considered her a daughter. I know he would have done the same for our little boy in a few weeks.
There really aren’t any words that can truly explain what Grandad meant to me.
I miss you, Grandad. You leave an unfillable, eccentric-man-sized-hole in my life.
We will see you again, and we will talk about the madness of life once more.
Until then, in the words of our friend Mr Tolkien: “I will not say: do not weep; for not all tears are an evil.”
James Hills Writes 