Where do I begin? I guess with the facts. On the morning of March 21st, my father-in-law, Paul's dad, Henry's grandfather, John Critser, passed away of a heart attack. It has been such a shock to our family and will take a very long time to adjust to this new reality. The last week and a half has been spent with family and friends telling stories, sorting through pictures and remembering why he has had such an impact on our lives.
John has been described by many as a kind, thoughtful, generous man. This by people who knew him in all different aspects of life. He was so many things to many different people. I guess most knew him as a professor, mentor, researcher, and business man in the field of science. He was very passionate about his research and training graduate students to go on and be successful in his field. He had his hand in so many advancements that have been made, and I have been overwhelmed to learn through conversations with is colleagues & students this past week just how much of an impact he had on his field and on so many others who have crossed paths with him through the years. In this way his legacy will be greatly felt for generations to come.
However, I knew him in a family sense. From the time I first met him as a freshman in college he has been nothing but a gentleman to me. He was always concerned with others well being - asking if he could do anything to help Paul and I. He had a quiet and gentle way about him. He did not need to fill silence with words. That's how I knew that when he spoke, it was from the heart and with meaning.
He also gave the best hugs. He always made a point to tell me how good it was to see me when we visited and left with a strong and meaningful hug. This surprised me at first because he was generally a more reserved man, but over the years I came to know and look forward to his hugs at the end of a visit. The weekend before he died he was here in Indy for a visit. I feel so fortunate to have had that weekend with the entire family. We spent time visiting, eating meals, and what I will cherish most is that he had time to hold and play with Henry.
I think what hurts the most about losing John is that he will not be able to watch Henry grow. I know how much Henry would've benefited from having John in his life, and what he would've learned from his grandpa. We will just have to make sure to keep his legacy alive by telling stories, sharing pictures and keeping him close at heart so that Henry knows what a wonderful man his grandpa was.
I'd like to start by sharing some of the pictures we took the last weekend we spent with him. Here's to remembering the wonderful man that John was, and cherishing the time we had with him!!
