I have found that sometimes in life things happen that truly remind us that everything happens for a reason. The author of this book and I were childhood friends. After high school our lives took us in very different directions. Several years ago we reconnected via social media. The day I saw she had released a children’s book about loved ones passing and what happens I ordered it immediately. Earlier that day my mother had called me to inform me that my grandfather was not doing well and I should think about visiting soon. The day the book arrived with a beautiful message to my youngest son I had gotten a call from my mom telling me that my grandfather declined rapidly and was rushed to the hospital and would be entering hospice care. I curled up with this beautiful book. Tears streaming down my face as I read, her words speaking to me all the things that as adults we forget about the process of losing a loved one. My grandfather passed just days later. I will forever be in awe how this book came to me right when I needed it and will forever be grateful to Jamie for sharing her gift of writing words that truly touched me.
Louis Logsdon left this world October 6, 2016. Beloved husband of my grandmother Rosemary for 64 years. Father of three, Grandfather of 5 and Great-Grandfather of 10. He was a proud US Navy Vet who inspired me to join the Navy right out of High School which lead to push me to a very successful career. Having lived with my grandparents for years during my childhood he was not just my grandfather he was a father figure at a time I really needed him. He went on to be a Detroit Police Officer to continue his life of service to others. My grandfather was a man of few words who rarely uttered the words I love you, but showed his love for his family in ways many couldn’t understand. But I did. I saw it as he stood in uniform the day I graduated Boot Camp. The look of pride that I followed in his footsteps. My grandfather’s memory will live on in the family he raised and our love for him will never waiver. Fair winds and following seas Grandpa, rest in paradise.
-Stacy Rabe