Grandfather....

My grandfather, aged 91 when he passed away last night.
This was a man I did not know very well, if at all. He passed in and out of my life at odd intervals. Largely because he and my grandmother where snow birds. They lived in an out of the way corner of Texas during the winter and an obscure part of Minnesota in the summer.
My memories of him revolve around two things. One being this man who drove his truck towing a camper. Which they spent the majority of there time in. If not driving from one home to another as the seasons changed, then across the country. Which is the other thing about him I recall the most. His insatiable curiosity with family history. He would drive all over tracking people down, gathering information and what not. He was most likely the first influence on my own fascination with our family history.
His own family history is still not clearly defined. Past ancestors changing their last name. Court houses burning down. Other factors that I dont know all lead to this mystery about his family history. Which is probably why he was so big on it. He compiled enough information on his family and all relatives to fill two or three books.
Another memory of him. If not turning up on their journeys from one place to another, is the one big family reunion that we had when I was very young. So many people, but what stands out, is him and several large blackboards. All the names and how they where all connected laid out for all to see.
All of my memories of him are good. My siblings my have had more of a negative experience with him, but I dont think, or remember, having one. His voice was deep and gruff. He made sculptures out of beer cans. His being as tall or taller then my dad. Its odd how all the men in my family are all so tall. My memories are few and fuzzy. Memories of memories now, but they are good.
And despite how he ended up. A car accident a couple years ago led to his dementia taking a turn for the worse. This whole experience was a mess. Though it was not their fault, it has taken so long to get it all settled. They chose not to take action against the hospital where they where treated. They got back to Minnesota only to discover that they had broken bones and other small issues. Nothing very serious, just unbelievable to hear.
  With the worsening of his dementia he was placed into a nursing home. He of course did not like this. He was a very independent seeming person. And had managed to escape a couple times. He was always a very capable seeming individual. And though I dont know much about him, I will miss him.