Grandpa Don was not a lemon!
Don Schmitz & Grandkidsandme

Recently, my friend Don passed away. He had been stricken with polio at the age of twelve but never stopped fighting. Don was a wonderful father and grandfather. He fought harder than most to utilize his gifts. 

His son presented the eulogy at his father’s funeral. He described his father as having a lemon of a body. The reaction by the congregation was just as Don would have wanted—we laughed! 

Polio had destroyed the muscles throughout his body and during his teenage years Don struggled to regain the use of in his arms and legs. Don loved a challenge and when he was told he would never walk, he took up the challenge. Many years later, after many operations and braces on his arms and legs, he did walk. 

While recovering from polio, Don learned to play the guitar. He encouraged and taught his children and grandchildren the love of music and the value of humor. It was evident the day of his funeral when his children and grandchildren sang songs and played their instruments. 

Two weeks before he died, Don and I were talking business on the phone. As we were talking, he suddenly stopped me and said he had to get going to his grandson’s birthday party. I joked with him and asked, “What is more important, business or your grandson?”  He laughed and hung up the phone.

Don Schmitz is a popular speaker and writer on parenting and grandparenting. He is the author of The New Face of Grandparenting…Why Parents Need Their Own Parents and founder of The Grandkidsandme Foundation and Grandparent Camps. Don holds graduate degrees in Education, Administration and Human Development. He is the father to three sons and nine grandchildren. Contact Don@grandkidsandme.com