Remembering Pop

Col. Herman A. "Alf" Waggener
1920-2021

'“Imprint these words of mine on your hearts and minds, bind them as a sign on your hands, and let them be a symbol on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your city gates, so that as long as the heavens are above the earth, your days and those of your children may be many in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors. '

Deuteronomy 11:18-21 (CSB)

Patrick and I started dating in late October 1999. He told me about his family, including his grandparents, who were still active and lived in Ohio. When Thanksgiving came around that year, he drove to Dayton to spend the holiday with them. Not every 29-year-old man drives six hours each way to see his grandparents for a two days, but I thought it meant either they were truly extraordinary or he was, or perhaps both. It turned out to be both.

I told Patrick that I wanted to spend Christmas with him in Texas and meet his family. He told me that his grandparents, Alf and Floss, or “Pop” and “Polly” to the grandchildren, wouldn’t be there. Pop and Polly found out that Patrick was bringing a young lady to Texas with him and suddenly, they had plane tickets to Texas for Christmas. 

Pop and Polly were every bit as wonderful as Patrick had described. I could tell immediately that they loved Patrick dearly and unconditionally. They loved and accepted me right away because Patrick loved me. 

Patrick and I married in November of 2000, and Pop and Polly were there to help with the wedding and to celebrate with us. They were so happy for their eldest grandchild. We were so fortunate to be able to visit them often and watch them enjoy our son, Adam.

Polly went to be with Jesus in February 2019 at the age of 97. Last week, Pop joined her in heaven at the age of 101. Pop’s home-going has hit me harder than I thought it would. He led a full, faith-filled life, and we know that he is enjoying his reward in heaven. However, I couldn’t figure out why I was feeling his loss so deeply until a couple of days ago. I realized that there is so much of Pop in the person I love the most, my husband and Pop’s grandson, Patrick. Knowing and loving Pop connected me to Patrick in a way I hadn’t understood fully until now.

I could spend hours talking about all the things that Pop and Patrick had in common. Their senses of humor and quick wits, their interests in all things high-tech, and their genuine love and care for others are just a few of the things that they shared in common during their nearly 51-year grandfather-grandson relationship. However, the most important thing that Pop modeled for his children and his grandchildren was his faith. I’ve heard it said that Christianity is caught as well as taught, and Patrick has been blessed with parents and grandparents who love God and seek to build His Kingdom. Their examples of faithfulness were undoubtedly what led him to join Nashville First Baptist Church not long after moving to the city, and it’s where Patrick and I would later meet and marry.

Alf Waggener blessed my life in many ways, and I count it a high honor and privilege to love the part of him who lives on in his grandson. Pop is with me every day in the form of the godly man he helped to shape. I pray that Patrick and I can continue to live out Pop’s legacy of faith and model it for his great-grandson. I look forward to the day in heaven when I see Pop again and hear him say, “Hey, lady Lydia!”

Pop's Celebration of Life Service

Pop's Obituary (written by Patrick and edited by me)

Patrick's Facebook Post

Christmas Letter 2019

      Greetings from the Watts family! We hope you are having a wonderful holiday season and have the opportunity to pause and reflect on the wonderful miracle of Jesus’ birth.

Polly and Adam

       Like everyone else, we’ve had ups and downs this year. In February, we said “goodbye for now” to Patrick’s grandmother, Floss Waggener. She brought so much joy and positivity to the world in her 97 years, and we rejoice in the knowledge that she is with her Savior. “Polly,” as we called her, had the ability to distill any conversation or situation into two key elements: the absolute most encouraging words, and the gospel. Remembering the little things she said or did has made us smile over these last months. We are so thankful that Adam had the opportunity to know his great-grandmother.
        Patrick has made several trips to Ohio this year to spend time with Polly before she passed away and to be with his 99-year-old grandfather (“Pop”) as he adjusts to life without his wife of 76 years. Polly’s amazing caregivers have been able to continue looking after Pop and making it possible for him to stay in his home.
       Adam wrapped up his first year of middle school in May and jumped right into a busy summer. He and Patrick visited Pop over Memorial Day weekend, with a side trip to King's Island. Adam went to Camp Invention and Vacation Bible School in June. He also attended his first concert, "Weird Al" Yankovic, at Ascend Amphitheater.

"Weird Al" Yankovic concert

      In July, Patrick and Adam went to CentriKid Camp in Campbellsville, KY. He also went to Music Arts Camp at church and took swimming lessons. Adam visited Kentucky two more times with the children’s ministry from church when they went on day trips to

Summer reading books

Venture River Water Park and Beech Bend Park. He still found plenty of time to read and play video games during his break.               August brought the beginning of sixth grade, and it was nice to already have a year of middle school under our belts and not be new to the school this year. Adam has joined a robotics team at school, which Patrick is coaching, and he is enjoying making new friends and learning how to get the robot ready for tournaments.

Robotics tournament

        Lydia’s health challenges keep our family time close to home. We have “Family Movie Night” nearly every week when we eat pizza and watch something on Disney+. We enjoy cheering on the Baylor Bears,  Tennessee Vols, and Nashville Predators

Gnash and Adam

from the comfort of home. Adam has also gotten interested in something his mom likes - jigsaw puzzles!
       We found out last month that Patrick’s sister and her husband will be welcoming their second child, a girl, next year. By next summer, we will have four nieces - ages newborn to sixteen years old!
        Patrick is still doing well in his work at LifeWay, working on everything from worship to VBS to training software for churches to assessments for church planters. He works from home one or two days a week now, and we enjoy having lunch together on those days.
        We love hearing from our friends and family. Please keep up with us on Facebook or email us at patrickandlydia(at)gmail.com.

Merry Christmas! Patrick, Lydia, and Adam

Fun in the Smokies

Pictures

This year, Patrick's grandparents will celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary. They decided that instead of a party, they would like for us all to get together for a few days. So, we rented a cabin in Gatlinburg, and fifteen of us - our family, Patrick's brother and his family, Patrick's sister and her husband, Patrick's parents, his aunt and uncle, and Pop and Polly (the grandparents) all gathered for some laid-back fun in the Smokies. The cabin had seven bedrooms and a game room, which was a big hit with the cousins, ages 3, 4, and 7, and plenty of room for adults to talk and work a jigsaw puzzle. Monday was spent exploring Gatlinburg and resting at the chalet, and on Tuesday, one group went to Dollywood, while another group went outlet shopping and out for lunch. It was a great time to visit and enjoy being together!

Click here for pictures!

over the river and through the woods

We went to Dayton, Ohio for a Memorial Day weekend visit with Patrick's grandparents. Adam is very interested in planes and rockets now, and so we thought it would be a good time for his first visit to the National Museum of the United States Air Force. Pop (Patrick's grandfather) has flown many of the aircraft displayed there. It was even more special visiting there on Memorial Day weekend.

We played at Pop and Polly's house on Saturday afternoon and went to Oinkadoodlemoo for supper. They have really good barbeque, and the name is fun to say. They even have something rare in Ohio - sweet tea!

On Sunday, we went to church at First Baptist Kettering, where my friend from my youth group days, Chad Keck is pastor. Adam had such a good time in Sunday School there that he didn't want to leave!

We headed back on Monday morning fueled by Timbits from Tim Hortons and making the usual stop at IKEA in West Chester.

Also, we discovered that Adam's understanding of the word "target" is limited to the retail establishment: