Howdy everyone,

I'm not sure how to really begin what I want to type, so I'm just gonna let my heart tell my fingers where to land. Today we laid to rest one of the greatest people I know. My grandpa Leslie Edward Loker was always a kind hearted, give the shirt of your back type of a guy. One that would be your best supporter and one that would lay down the law if you stepped out of line. He helped mold me into the person I am today. I see some semblance of this almost daily. One of the main things is telling my son or other people I'm close to "Come on try it," or "just do it," or "how do you know you can't if you don't try." When I was growing up, I always disliked being pushed into things that I didn't want to do. Now that I am older, and see myself doing the same thing he did to me, I realize, he wasn't trying to push me to do it. He had such pride in all of us that he didn't want us to fail, or not go after something because of lack of hard work or effort. I hope one day my son sees it the same way I see it now! There are a few things that I wish I would have spoken more about with my grandpa before his memory started to fail. I always enjoyed listening to his WWII stories and his time in the Navy. I may have heard some of them more than I could count, but I would never tell him so. He took such pride, and rightfully so. I also remember the times he and my grandma taught me how to do a little line dancing. I could never really get the whole, kick boot, turn, stomp stomp done right, but it was a blast trying and sharing in what they loved to do. And now that I come to think of it, he taught me the basics of trolling for fish. He would cast out his minnow tipped hook behind his row boat and paddle around Pearl Lake until he caught a crappie, and he honed that craft to a T. I could go on and on about all the memories and love that this great man created and gave everyone he came in contact with, but it still wouldn't seem to add up to how great he actually was. I just want to say thank you to the man who raised my father how he thought a man should be, and showed my dad how to be a loving, important father and also a best friend. I am going to include a poem my wife wrote the day we found out about his passing:

Leslie E. Loker

August 13th, 1926 – April 14th, 2012

He served our country

with honor and pride.

He lived his life

with his head held high.

He watched you grow

and shared love and stories.

He shared in your memories

and he shared in your glories.

You sat with him

as he slowly slipped away.

You held his hand

until his very last day.

You may not have seen,

but he knew you were there.

You told him it was ok.

You told him you cared.

He now sits aside

the Lord in his place.

He holds your hand now

and dries the tear on your face.

Life will go on,

you will continue to live.

You will honor his memory,

in the love that you give.

~ Heather Loker

4/14/2012

Rest In Peace Grandpa. You were not only an American Hero, but also a tremendous grandparent and a true Hero to me. I will always love you. I hope someday  my grandchildren will be as proud of me as I am of you.

Always your "Stick in the mud,"

Jason