Tributes and condolences

"If you had told me I would be sitting here today, trying to find the words to say goodbye to my daddy, I would have told you that you were crazy. When I think about growing up, I can’t think about just one memory …. I think about a lifetime of them. I think about building sandcastles at the beach, family go-kart races in the mountains, and sitting in the bleachers watching you play softball with lifelong friends. I think about car shows, even though I couldn’t tell you what we were looking at. I learned what hard work looks like and being dedicated to the things you love to do. Even after retirement, you kept on going. Voted best school pick up man. Most frequent visitor at Brothers Heating n Air. Longest customer of Ace Hardware and Mr B’s. Favorite patient at physical therapy and lastly received the most to-go orders for dinner than anyone in town. I think about us going to tracks as a family, racing as a family, winning as a family, and yes, fighting as a family, too. Nothing could replace those Saturday nights, covered in red dirt, making memories that none of us realized would one day mean so much. Those days made us who we are. That's our family. That’s our memories that we will hold onto forever. But one of the greatest blessings of my life was getting to watch you become Pop Pop. I have always known you as my daddy, the man who could fix things, fight through things, and somehow make everything feel like it was going to be okay. But watching you love your grandchildren showed me another side of you. A tenderness and a kind of love that was special, genuine, and so completely you. The unique individual bonds you shared with them is something they will never experience from anyone else quite the same way. I am thankful I got to witness it. They may be too young to understand all that they have lost, but I promise you, they will grow up knowing exactly who their Pop Pop was and just how much you loved them. Your voice, your sayings, your looks, and that good old-fashioned Bobby Reid tone will forever be a part of us all. We can quote you word for word, and best believe we plan to often. We will repeat your sayings, laugh at the memories, and most likely hear your voice in our heads telling us to just “leave it alone” and you will do it yourself. I honestly hope we never lose that. I was by your side through each of your recoveries. I watched you fight, I prayed for you, I worried about you, and I believed in you. You were always the one who seemed strong enough to overcome anything. I think that is why I struggle today. I keep coming back to the fact that this time I couldn’t help you. I don’t know how to make peace with this yet. I don’t know how to accept that the man I spent my life believing could beat anything is no longer here for me to call, to hug, to kiss your furry cheek, to fuss at, to attempt to boss around, to get random Facebook reels from, To cook extra seafood for, or to simply just sit in silence with My promise to you : I will take care of Jamie. I will take care of Mama. I will stand by them, love them, try not to aggravate them but always make sure they are okay. I will never stop telling people about you. I had the best daddy on earth. You gave me a love that death cannot take away. I don’t know how to do this life without you. I don’t know how to walk away from here and accept that I can’t see you again. So today, I am saying “see you again” I hope you know how much you are loved. I hope you know how proud I am to be your daughter. I wish I could tell you just once more."