A Man of Service, Love, and Family

 We said the saddest goodbye as Mr. Yesteryear Acres Dad passed away.  He was a hardworking man full of love and strength. 

He will forever be missed by us all

We could fill endless pages full of loving anecdotes and memories.

Abigail has written this tribute in loving memory of her beloved Grandpa 

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My grandpa was a man with enough adventures and stories to fill three lifetimes it seems! And you better believe he didn’t forget a SINGLE detail! Not ever! He had a better memory than I currently do and his recall always impressed me to no end. He’d always start off with “hey Abigail, did Grandpa ever tell you about the time…” whenever he started off in the third Person, you knew it was gonna be a good one. Stories of life in the military, stories of being in construction, stories of family and love- he did it all. 

My grandpa proudly served his country in the Navy as a CWO3 SeaBee. He had stories upon stories of his life serving others- and they mostly had the same theme of how he put his men first above all else. Tales of how he would remove his outer uniform with his ranking and neatly fold it so it would stay nice and clean while he worked and sweat and became all covered in dirt right next to his men. As soon as someone came to check on their unit, he’d quickly don his clean outer uniform layer as though he’d been only supervising all along as he was instructed! He was my inspiration for leadership in the military, and we shared a very special bond once I joined. My grandpa came to my naval academy indoctrination day and was the one to swear me into the service himself. From then on we were even closer- sharing military stories back and forth. And even though I chose the Marines instead of the Navy, that didn’t stop my grandpa from proudly displaying Marine Corps shirts and telling everyone how his granddaughter was a Marine. 

It’s very easy for those so involved in a life of military service to become that. For their life to be that and only that. But not my grandpa. He loved his family dearly. He loved my grandma for 73 years and together they made a huge loving family. They were the epitome of the two that started it all with love. Children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren that all love one another. He loved nature and watching birds and squirrels and deer. He loved making sure my grandma never missed a single special everyday moment by hearing him say “hey Nancy…” with a smirk to show her something funny the kitty was doing, a cardinal in the feeder, or a grandchild being ornery.  

I think it’s also safe to say our love of all things food comes from my grandpa. He loved a tall glass of milk, fresh homemade white bread, ice cream, and APPLE PIE. Oh how he loved apple pie. I don’t think I ever have or ever will see an apple pie without thinking of him. 

My grandpa was an amazing man. He was a man of service, he was loving, and hard working. He raised the best man I know- my dad- and his hard working ways was fully instilled into him. He raised a tough and loving Sigman family together with my grandma, and he will be greatly missed. As our joke goes- Heaven may be guarded by Marines, but the Seabees built the whole dang thing! I love you with all my heart grandpa.

We will forever be grateful

We will forever love you