Grandpa's Memorial

Grandpa's memorial was this past Saturday. It was held at St James, the church he (and Grandma) attended for decades. The ceremony was organized primarily by my Uncle Tom, and I feel very fortunate and honored that I was asked to do a reading from the Book of Wisdom, particularly since I am not religious. Aunt Joanne also did a reading, and the eulogy Uncle Tom wrote and delivered was extremely well done--I don't think there was a dry eye in the entire church by the time he was done.

Grandpa's condo is literally right around the corner from the Church, so we walked back to the clubhouse in his complex for the reception. My cousin Jesse put together a very cool slideshow featuring Grandpa, all of his kids, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. My uncle Denny put together a DVD of footage from the 40s and 50s (in color!) which was really mind-blowing, it felt like time traveling to see Grandpa and Grandma, my own mother, and all of my aunts and uncles as infants and toddlers.

The biggest surprise of the evening was the arrival of nearly all of Great Uncle Roland and Aunt Monnie's grandchildren. A little history first--my grandfather Ray Reiss and his brother Roland Reiss married two sisters, my grandmother Margaret Lenahan and her sister Monnie Lenahan. The four of them lived in the same house in Solana Beach for years, and although my family visited them many many times over the years we rarely saw any of Monnie & Roland's grandkids. So, I met four of these cousins for the first time on Saturday! We managed to get everyone in a group shot, probably the first and last time so many Reiss cousins will be together in one place. They were planning on attending both the memorial and the reception, but unfortunately San Diego's airport was completely fogged in so their flight was delayed 4 hours. I'm really glad they were able to make it to the reception, it was nice visiting with all of them.

I also enjoyed catching up with all of my 1st cousins, Aunts and Uncles. This was the first time I had seen my cousin Danny Fitzpatrick in something like 12 years, and the first time he and his sisters were all together in nine years! Many stories were exchanged and there was a lot of laughter as we remembered Grandpa.

There were also a LOT of photos taken, and in an effort to make it easier to share them, I set up a photo sharing group on Flickr. There are currently 7 members but so far it looks like I am the only one that has added photos to the pool. I invited all of the relatives for whom I have an address, so if you would like to add photos to the group but have not yet received an invitation please let me know and I'll send one to you. I can be reached at mattstevenson.geo ( at ) yahoo.

Farewell, Grandpa Reiss

Last Monday my grandfather Ray Reiss died. He was 96 years old, and although his health had been failing for the past several months, he was a remarkably healthy guy. He moved to Solana Beach with my grandmother, Margaret, about 33 years ago. My grandma passed away about 16 years ago and Grandpa continued to live independently in a condo just down the street from their old house.

He and Margaret had six children--Tom, Cathy, Joann, Nancy (my mom), Margie, and John; 17 grandkids; and 7 (I think) great grandchildren.

I have so many great memories of Grandpa. He was sharp as a tack, regulalry cleaning my clock at Scrabble, and was always learning new things. For example, in his late seventies he decided to learn how to use a computer and never looked back, designing custom birthday and holiday cards for all the grandkids, using email to stay in touch with everyone, and in his 90s making videos and slide shows with voice-over commentary that he would send to the family to keep everyone updated on his activities. He was a piano player (I remember asking him once if he knew Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 2, and he of course just started playing it), an artist, and an excellent conversationalist. In fact, one of the things I liked best about talking with Grandpa is that he was far more interested in ideas--philosophy, politics, religion--than he was in gossip, celebrity, or any of the fleeting trends that seem to dominate our national discourse.

Grandpa Reiss was my last surviving grandparent. I grew up in Phoenix and my family would take several trips a year to San Diego, and consequently I spent more time with my G & G Reiss than any other relatives. I feel fortunate to have known all 4 of my grandparents; but I feel particularly fortunate to have known Grandpa as an adult, and to have spent so much time with him. A few years ago I was attending the ESRI conference in San Diego and I took the train up to Solana Beach to make dinner for Grandpa and hang out for a few hours. While dinner was in the oven, we sat on his patio, watched the sunset, and split a six pack of Moosehead (his favorite beer). It was great talking with him and just hanging out. I remember thinking at the time "Wow, how many guys get to drink a beer with their grandpa and have a conversation about foreign policy?"

He was a great guy and an awesome Grandpa. I will miss him.

(This picture was taken in early September, the last time we were in San Diego, and the last time I saw him)