Gene M. Richards, DDS, Grandpa, Dad, Friend, My Biggest Fan in Lacrosse

*** This is a LONG post about my Grandpa Richards. My main purpose in writing this is to have a record of my memories of Grandpa and Grandma Richards, and secondly for people to enjoy and learn about a great man. I love my grandparents more than I know how to write in this small blog, but this will have to do as a supplement for my many memories I hope to keep with me forever and ever. ***

My Grandpa Richards passed away on Dec. 29th. Jonathon and I were up in Washington for the Christmas break. He had a stroke while on a cruise a few weeks ago and a couple of minor strokes following and had been downhill since. I felt like before I left for WA, that would be the last time I saw my grandpa and decided to say my goodbyes. I felt peace and comfort while knowing this would be the last time I saw him.

At first I felt a bit guilty that I hadn't spent more time with him when he was in the hospital. I quickly realized this does no good and decided to focus on the good memories I got to build with him through the years.

I'd like to share some of these.

My favorite memory of my grandpa (and grandma) is that they were my absolute #1 fans for lacrosse. They never missed a game - showing up in their "Jordan Lacrosse" shirts sitting on their beach chairs, snow or shine. I could always count on them to be there. This is something I KNOW my grandpa was so proud of - his state champ grand daughter!

I think his favorite story to tell people went something like this:

"I gotta tell ya... when we were getting ready to go to Nancy's state championship game (the THIRD one she won) we got a phone call from Nancy as we were going out the door. She told Grandma to bring her a list of things; 'Vitamin C, pickle juice, water. Oh, one more thing- Tell Grandpa to bring his wallet!' You see, I normally paid her $1 for every point she scored in her games. I told her for her last game, I'd pay her $6 for each point and $3 for every assist. Boy, I'll tell ya- she cleaned out my wallet that game; $48 dollars that game cost me!"

I loved when he told this story, again and again. It always made me smile knowing I'd made him proud and that he wanted to brag all about me and put me on a pedestal.

My next favorite memory is my college graduation. After I received my diploma, I walked down to my family before going back to my seat and Grandpa pulled me in for a hug and said "I'm proud of ya, babe" with tears in his eyes and the most sincere smile I've ever seen. Grandpa was a big reason behind my decision to go into the dental field. I loved all his stories and how he loved being a dentist. This was a special bond between us and led to many conversations only dental nuts would be interested in. Which leads to one of my next favorite memories...

When my grandpa came in to be a patient for me at my dental hygiene school. Haha- even just typing that made me laugh! From the minute he walked in the doors, he was the star of the show. Everyone knew who he was and loved him. In school, we had specific patient type requirements we needed to fulfill. One of these was a geriatric (older person) and a more moderate to severe amount of calculus. Since Grandpa worked for both, he got passed around at school to help people fulfill all their requirements. And since we were in school, it took four three-hour sessions to finish the job.

Grandpa came early to every appointment. He loved being around all the girls in school and telling all his dental stories (This is mostly why they took three hours :) and even pretended to start a riot when he proclaimed to all the other patients that HE was THE dentist. Oh, and we can't forget when he pretended one of the girls hurt him while cleaning and then laughed heartily and said just kidding (FYI: that is the WORST thing you can do to a dental hygiene student and grandpa knows better!) I smiled at the look on his face when he found out I was going to give him an injection (total shock and terror) and grinned from ear to ear when he told me that night what I great shot I am (pun intended) because he was still numb 6 hours later.

I was really lucky to live so close by my grandma and grandpa. Jonathon and I went over to their place quite often to watch BYU football and basketball with them and to drop off or pick up Cosmo while we were living in our apartment.

One of Jonathon's favorite memories of Gene is when we were visiting their place and Grandpa and Grandma were in their kitchen eating sandwiches for lunch. Grandpa was on a stool near the sink for some reason and grandma was at the table. We walked in the room and heard:

"Cannon got mustard on his head." -Gene

"Well, get it off, Gene!" -Ann yelling

"He won't let me!" -Gene yelling louder

So we walk over and sure enough there is a huge plop of yellow mustard on top of Cannon's head sliding down the side of his face. Like Cannon REALLY climbed up on the table and dipped his head in mustard... LOL- Grandpa just put too much on his sandwich and it fell onto Cannon's head. So Jonathon went over to help wipe and when he was about three inches from his head, Cannon snarled at him and tried to bite. So, Grandpa clearly knew Cannon. This entire story was hilarious.

Grandpa and Grandma

4th of July at Brighton Breakfast

Grandpa, me, and Grandma at my college graduation

Me and Grandpa

Our last picture together

I love you Grandpa. Watch over all of us while you're having fun up there!

Riding the bus

I rode the bus to and from school last night for the first time in a couple months. It reminded me of just how terrible it was to not have a car and realize again how hard the last couple years have been for us. Nancy and I genuinely think the Lord put "blinders" over our eyes to help us survive and de-sensitize us to how crappy that was.

We have always been grateful for the Lord providing opportunities for us with the different forms of transportation necessary to do all we needed to do. They haven't always been the easiest or nicest, but it did the job to get us the places we needed to be. Most importantly, school! Our main form of transportation after our car, Lexie, had the head gasket go out, was the UTA trax and bus. We could usually make it to the bus stop in Lexie, but no further. Or we borrowed Grandma and Grandpa Richards huge, old, trusty Suburban (we named it Gene cuz it reminded us of him) to get to the bus stop (It cost $100 to fill up.. this is why it only took us to the bus stop)

You know you are are riding the bus or trax in Utah if...

1-You park and have to SPRINT to the bus stop to make sure it doesn't leave without you or else you have to wait an hour for the next one and you're late to class

2-You wait outside in the cold until your toes, fingers, and nose are numb and never know if it really is even going to come

3-You see 20 open seats on the bus and settle down in a good spot, then a huge, smelly person comes and chooses to sit RIGHT NEXT TO YOU

4-The bus doesn't need any music because you can hear three different choices of songs at once coming out of headphones full blast (usually vulgar) so everyone else can conveniently listen too!

5-Your lungs burn from the fumes, yes, I said FUMES of alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, and probably paint thinner. Oh, and B.O. and periodontal disease. And poop.

6-At the end of the ride, you can tell your spouse Tino's entire life story because he was talking on his cell phone loudly the ENTIRE 45 minute drive... if only you knew Spanish.

7-It takes you 30 minutes to read what normally should take just 15 because the ride is so bumpy and makes you sick by the end

8-You have to carry your pepper spray in hand the entire time until you make it home because of the creepy old guys that don't stop staring at you (From Nancy)

9-You see a larger woman pull out a 2 Liter of 7-Up from her purse and chug it down to the last drop. Yes, a 2 Liter. We have pictures as proof.

Needless to say, we LOVE having our new car. It is good to have these little moments to remind us to appreciate the blessings we have. And having a car IS A BLESSING, not a right!!

We'll post pictures of Zip (our new, perfect-for-us-at-this-time-in-our-lives car) soon.

-Jonathon and Nancy

Typical "Trax Person" (this is what we call them, or TP for short)