Elihue Hill

Last week my grandfather, Elihue Hill passed away. He was hospitalized for two months, but before that was in decent health for a man his age. It’s very hard to be stuck out here at times like these. I didn’t even know he was in the hospital and while everyone else back home had two months to adjust, the news came very suddenly to me.
On the brighter side, my grandpa was one of those men about which you can say quite honestly and without fear of sounding cliché ‘He lived a full life.’
He grew up a country boy in Arkansas. When the second world war broke out he joined the navy. But he once told me the navy was boring, when his tour was up he went and joined the marines, and with them he saw combat. He made it home and moved to San Francisco where he met grandma.
I will miss his soft southern drawl. I will miss his never ending optimism. I will miss the way he acted like a wise grandfather one minute, and the next he was giggling like a mischievous teenager.
My cousin Brian passed away almost two years ago and while I know t isn’t right to say a grandparent played favorites, I think all my cousins and I know that Brian and Grandpa shared a very special bond. When Brian passed, a huge part of Grandpa went with him. I like to think they are together now, laughing the way only the two of them could make each other laugh.