J. Edwin Warkentin

My grandpa was the very best grandpa a person could ever have.  I knew he loved me very much, and that is the greatest legacy that I will remember him for.

Here are some memories that I have of his life.  I was proud when I was a little girl to brag to my friends that I had a Grandpa (and Grandma) who were in World War II.  I remember him teaching at B.C.I.T. in the engineering program and we would see him there sometimes in his office with lots of wires.  Later, after he retired from B.C.I.T., he opened a picture framing store and gave me my first job, working for him there.  He also started a picture framing school, travelling across B.C. teaching others that skill.  I thought those were very cool jobs for a grandpa and I admired that he kept working (and reinventing himself) even after "retirement".  Grandpa was also a published writer and even asked me when I was in university to edit one of his books.  I was pretty intimidated by that! He inspired me to submit my own writing to be published.  My Grandpa was a man of many talents and skills.

Here are some memories of life we shared together.  One of my earliest memories are the family gatherings we would have at his and Grandma's house on LaSalle.  They were always rowdy and fun with lots of great food.  In my childhood memories, they almost always also included a football game on T.V.  It was really special to me that for many years while growing up our family attended the same churches as our Grandpa and Grandma and we saw them regularly there.  One of my most treasured memories however was the summer when they took us kids and my mom for our first and only trip to Disneyland and Knotts Berry Farm, all 7 of us living and travelling down and back in a small R.V.   It remains as a memory of how much they cared for us and wanted to be part of our lives and I will never forget that. 

More important than anything else, however, was who my Grandpa was as a person to me.  He was always gentle and kind and I never heard him speak an unkind or harsh word to anyone.  He was an excellent conversationalist and storyteller with a very detailed memory, better than mine at half his age.  He sent me many birthday cards through the years and I have kept them all, not only because they tangibly showed he cared but also because many of them contain descriptions of his life of what he had been doing when he was my age.  I remember him for his warm and peaceful smile, his calm nature, and his love for his family.  I am blessed among granddaughters to have had this wonderful Grandpa in my life.