My grandfather, Edgar M. Seward, has always been Grandpa Briggs to me. Briggs is the nick name he was giving, as a young man, after Brigham Young. I was told this is because he was quite the ladies man. He has always been a special person in my life and is someone that I hold much love and appreciation for and always will. Grandpa Briggs has been such an important person to me that I gave my son, Quincy, the middle name of Briggs.

Grandpa always had a way of making us grandkids feel special and loved. Everything was always fun when he was around. Many years ago, when I was in junior high school, I noticed something amazing about my grandfather. I was just sitting there watching him and the other adults interact with all my younger cousins and I realized something. While all the other adults where telling the kids to “do this” and “stop that”, grandpa was just letting the kids be kids. As long as they were safe, grandpa just let them have crazy fun. He also always worked hard a making sure you laughed and laughed a lot. Goofy sayings, silly jokes, or just a poke in the ribs coupled with a strange sound. He had a whole arsenal of fun ready to launch upon you at any giving moment. I think his favorite was to point at your chest and then poke you in the nose when you looked down at his hand. Wither we were at his house, our house, or on a family camping trip, Grandpa just knew how to be a kid right along with us.

My other fond memories with Grandpa Briggs are of when he would take me fishing. He loved to go out in a boat and just fish. And I loved it because, once again, he would just let you be a kid and fish like a kid. He didn’’t have the need to tell you how to do it or what you were doing wrong. He’d help you when you needed or wanted help and just let you do what you needed to do the rest of the time. Of course, the arsenal of fun would be ready and used quite often as well. It was always a fun time.

Grandpa Briggs went through some tough times in his live, too. He crushed his right hand during a crane accident at the coal mine. And over the past several years he has battled emphysema. A few weeks ago he was diagnosed with lung cancer.

Grandpa Briggs passed away earlier this evening. I will miss him so much.