EULOGY
DAVID ROYCE
Yesterday I said goodbye to my grandfather Elliott Royce who passed peacefully at age 96.
Thank you for being such a wonderful grandfather to me and such a wonderful great grandfather to Rowan. You will be missed sorely and remembered fondly. A more full, happy, spontaneous, compassionate and interesting life is rarely heard of.
I loved the vast and varied array of unique hobbies you had which included, myrmecology, drumming, viola de gamba, trampolining, marching in the Minneapolis police band, building recumbent tricycles (including ones with 4 foot tall Dr Seuss hats on the back and electric motors and ones that were side by side tandem recumbent tricycles with the aforementioned aftermarket modifications), puzzles, flying Cessna airplanes when you were younger, chess and many many more.
And I loved the newspaper articles you would send, that were always interesting and provocative even if not always exactly on the mark. I always knew you were thinking of me.
In your later years you provided a shining example to everyone who knew you for how wonderful and graceful aging could be. As you lost your physical abilities one by one you learned new ways to get around like taking the bus and new hobbies to keep you engaged. You exercised your body and your mind religiously so that you could keep experiencing life as long as it would have you.
It has been said before, but you did squeeze every sweet drop out of your life, living each day to its fullest. I hope that I am lucky and disciplined enough to spend my later years as you did.
The rich tapestry of family and friends whose lives you touched is a legacy anyone could be proud of. And for the rarest of chances in this life that I was lucky enough to be your grandchild I feel truly grateful.
In the words of Dr. Seuss, who you admired so much, "Don't be sad it's over, be happy that it happened."
Rest peacefully.
DAVID ROYCE
Yesterday I said goodbye to my grandfather Elliott Royce who passed peacefully at age 96.
Thank you for being such a wonderful grandfather to me and such a wonderful great grandfather to Rowan. You will be missed sorely and remembered fondly. A more full, happy, spontaneous, compassionate and interesting life is rarely heard of.
I loved the vast and varied array of unique hobbies you had which included, myrmecology, drumming, viola de gamba, trampolining, marching in the Minneapolis police band, building recumbent tricycles (including ones with 4 foot tall Dr Seuss hats on the back and electric motors and ones that were side by side tandem recumbent tricycles with the aforementioned aftermarket modifications), puzzles, flying Cessna airplanes when you were younger, chess and many many more.
And I loved the newspaper articles you would send, that were always interesting and provocative even if not always exactly on the mark. I always knew you were thinking of me.
In your later years you provided a shining example to everyone who knew you for how wonderful and graceful aging could be. As you lost your physical abilities one by one you learned new ways to get around like taking the bus and new hobbies to keep you engaged. You exercised your body and your mind religiously so that you could keep experiencing life as long as it would have you.
It has been said before, but you did squeeze every sweet drop out of your life, living each day to its fullest. I hope that I am lucky and disciplined enough to spend my later years as you did.
The rich tapestry of family and friends whose lives you touched is a legacy anyone could be proud of. And for the rarest of chances in this life that I was lucky enough to be your grandchild I feel truly grateful.
In the words of Dr. Seuss, who you admired so much, "Don't be sad it's over, be happy that it happened."
Rest peacefully.