Bubba passed away on September 2, 2019.
We love him and miss him already.
There were many parts to my dad - psychologist, dad, friend, author, one-time pastry chef and the list goes on, but I think the part he liked the most was being a grandfather! I can still remember his reaction when we told him I was pregnant for the first time. He was in traffic school in Berkeley and he wasn’t supposed to be on the phone but he was so excited that he stopped the class and told everyone he was going to be a grandpa!
We started calling him Crazy Grandpa Jerry from the start but Jake had other plans for his Grandpa name. Crazy Grandpa Jerry was a lot for a little baby to say. So Grandpa became Bubba and somehow it fit perfectly. It was ironic since we live in Texas where a Bubba certainly isn’t a small little Jewish man but Bubba he became.
From day 1, he loved buying Jake presents. Mostly they were wildly inappropriate for a baby but he bought them nonetheless. Some of my favorites or maybe least favorites that he bought for Jake were the slingshot and dart set! I loved seeing him with baby Jake because having had two girls he was in awe of this boy!
Jake's first trip to the Oregon Coast, my dad's favorite place, was certainly a special one!
As much as he loved watching Jake grow, I know that part of what made being a grandpa so meaningful to him was watching me, and later Rachel, as parents. He told me about a psychological study of how parents talked to their babies and I reminded him of the control group of “good” moms. He told me this with tears in his eyes, because he was a crier, especially when he was telling you how proud of you he was.
And when we had our daughter, Allie, Bubba started spending part of his time in Austin.
He was the grandpa that all our friends were jealous of. He was a regular at tot Shabbat, the pick-up line at elementary school and was willing to drop everything for a sick kid.
I’m so thankful that Jake and Allie will have their own special memories of Bubba. We asked the kids for their memories of Bubba and these are some of my favorites:
They both said that they loved going on adventures with Bubba, especially when they went for ice cream. We’re going to miss how sweet Bubba was.”
Allie said, “Bubba always made sure I was happy if I was feeling sad.
And my favorite from Jake:
When I was 6, I remember bringing Halloween candy to Bubba's apartment and I had a giant Reese's Cup (which is my favorite candy) and he told me next time I was at the apartment I could have it, but the next time I went, I asked for it...and he said he ate it. Classic Bubba.
Cheers to classic Bubba!
I love and miss you!
