Stories
I think its only appropriate to start off with “the garbage truck story”. Dad and his brothers were graduating basic training in the Army, but as the ceremony was drawing near, no one could find Greg. Right before the commencement, Greg finally shows up, on the back of a garbage truck. Per usual, dad was giving a higher up some trouble and got put on trash dutuy .
Dad, David, Hannah, Joan running home from middle school.
For some reason, Dad got it in his head that “the only reason Kyle graduated college was because Raija got him to hit the books”. The reality is, Raija and I started dating and both promptly stopped caring about as much. We then simultaneously the next year decided to get our shit together and try to graduate!
Christmas 2022, when Greg got it in his mind that we MUST bring empanadas from Denver to Houston. Every time we spoke to him leading up to Christmas, we were reminded to bring them.
-Raija M.
Greg had a lots of best friends and I am proud to have been one of them. Greg and I didn't agree on many things. But we always agreed on family and golf. Greg made me an honorary member of his family a few years back. For that I am forever grateful. I loved Greg like a brother.
-Moses R.
Never judged, only taught & Coached... Luv'ya 4ever...
-Lil Greg T.
When we were living in our house in homewood, we would leave our garbage cans on the pack porch. This one hungry squirrel LOVED chewing through the tops of the cans and eating the garbage. This squirrel was driving dad insane. He tried all sorts of things to deter it to no avail. Finally he decided he was gonna get a BB gun at Cabelas and shoot it. He got his BB gun, and got it in his sights one afternoon, but didnt have the heart to shoot it. For a guy that always said “Im not an animal lover”, He sure had a lot of compassion of animals!
-Kyle B.
When dad’s father died when he was only 6, he said he would wait for his dad to come home everyday for months. When he was 11 or 12 years old, he was walking to the mailbox and was thinking about his dad. He decided on that day that he wanted to be a father and be the best father possible to his children. And sure enough, he accomplished that, he truly is the best dad we could have ever asked for.
I dont have many details surrounding this information, But dad went to kindergarten the very first year of racial integration in public schools. So crazy to think how recent that actually was.
Your dad was the first person I learned from that you could buy golf balls at teh range, put them in the your car, and come back whenver you wanted. I still do that to this day.
-Kuris D.
One of my favorite memories of GB is any time you would call your house phone after 8:30 he would answer and say “Why are you calling my house at almost 9pm?!”
-Kim W.
Every time I’d see your dad he’d ask “How’re all them kids? How many are there now??”
-Trish S.
Your pops was is a really special person to me and Im super thankful for all of the time he spent with me. Whether it was teaching me golf, talking hoops, or just telling me great stories, he was always so generous to me an I’ll never forget that.
-Brett C.
When dad was in the Army, he was stationed alone overnight in a field protecting a shack of, what he believed to be, old WWII weapons. As the night drew on, he heard a noise coming from some near by corn. After a little bit, he heard some more gentle rustling. He turned his guns safety off in case he needed to use it. As he’s scanning the area, a set of BIG eyes pop out of the corn. Right as he drew his gun to shoot, he hears a “moooo” and realized it was just a cow.
When Raija and I went to visit dad one of the evenings he was in the hospital, we watched Green Acres, The Andy Griffith Show, and Hogan’s Heroes. Dad was giving us his usual knowledge dump about all the shows history, the actors, where they were from, marriages, how they died, etc. That talk turned into how this famous Danny Thomas and some dude with a weird name started selling tulips in Grand rapids and he was involved in the creation of St. Jude hospital. Just Dad’s typical insanely detailed recollection of a bunch of facts he had read over the years. That was the last full conversation Raija and I had with Dad and I’ll never forgot how we all laughed at how far this conversation went from where it started. He was so excited to tell us about it all.
-Kyle B.
I believe in the late 80s, dad was on travel for work and was in texas. He had been in a room all day long with a bunch of people smoking. Dad, started to break out into hives, so he went to an urgent care. The women told him it looked like he was having an allergic reaction. She gave him some meds and sent him on his way. Well, shortly after returning to the conference room, he broke out in hives again. He returned to the urgent care and the women said “Sir, you are allergic to smoke, do not go back. We want to keep you here overnight to make sure youre ok”. Dad, got his medicine and headed straight to the airport. he said “Im not going to die in texas. If I die, I’m going to die, its going to be in Chicago!”
-Kyle B.
Dad and I were always galivanting all over the place, so who knows where we were coming from. We stopped on our trip to grab some gas, so dad hopped out to fill up the tank. When the tank was full, he got back in the car and pulled off. We heard a loud *CLUNK* and looked at each other. I got out of the car and saw that the gas handle and hose were still in the tank of the car and dad had ripped the hose off of the pump. Dad got out to look at it, took it out, placed it next to the pump and we just drove off without saying a word haha
-Kyle B.
I will always remember your dad as such a goofy, fun loving, social guy. I remember at your wedding reception, he was walking around talking to EVERYONE as if we were all his best friends. You take after him so much.
-Rachel S.
I remember hanging out or staying over at your house once around the holidays back in HF and I have this memory that he was going all out to convince us that Santa really existed.
-Sai C.
A lot of people have bucket lists, but dont always go through with pursuing those goals. Dad had a few things on his, but one he talked about always wanting to do from a young age was drive a school bus. One year, dad signed up for a CDL course, got his license, and got hired as a school bus driver! Dad loved driving that bus so much, and the kids loved having him piloting it. I know he instilled a love of care, wisdom, and lessons on those kids lucky enough to have him as their driver. He only drove for a year or two, but he always talked about how much enjoyed doing it and he carried many of the driving habits he learned in his CDL course over to his driving in Sheriff Scotty (his Ford Escape).
Dad rolling his muscle car down the street so he wouldnt wake up aunt and uncle when he’d sneak out <UPDATE>
Kip Klapper
Over Christmas I had spent months deep cleaning our house and within two days Greg had exploded pasta sauce inside the microwave and didn’t clean it! When I busted him on it, he just looked soooo mischievous and giggled. For some reason that story just lives in my memory
-Raija M.
This story is how my dad taught me about fulfilling commitments and work ethic... When Lacey and I were in elementary school and Jr High, we used to walk this old lady's dog who lived down the street. We would go once in the morning and once after school. One morning, I woke up feeling very sick to my stomach and I told my dad that I couldn't walk the dog. He did not find that to be acceptable and he made me get up and go. As I'm crying all the way down the block with this little yorkie, I have to stop and throw up in one of our neighbors yards. I quickly rush back to drop the dog off and then head home. When I return, I'm crying even harder and telling my dad that I really was sick and I threw up outside. His response was, "And you got the job done too!". As angry as I was at him for making me go walk that dog in my poor condition that day, I know now my dad taught me a life lesson that has motivated me in so many way since then.
Marta B.
Dad LOVED his dad. He would tell me how he used to try and hide in the backseat or trunk of his dad’s car so he could tag along with him wherever he went. One time, he took dad along to work with him. He was an electrician, but always had a few other side jobs. Today he was working at a bar. Louis told dad to stay in the back of bar. Dad did for a long time but then came up front really quickly. His dad hurriedly rushed him in the back and told him it was very important that he stayed in the back. When dad got older, he realized that the bar was segregated and that he wasnt allowed to be in their with the white people.
In the summer of 1977 I went to work at JC Penney as I had done every summer and winter break for a few years. I was assigned to the Men's Dept, that was frequently getting new managers. My co-worker told me that I would probably like this new person.
Next day I was busy folding shirts when I heard a voice behind me say, "Wow, look at the legs on her!" After work and after an apology from Greg, we went to the pub across the street and shared a pitcher of beer, which is amazing because Greg didn't really like beer!
That's how it all started!
-Peggy B.
Alex, Lacey, and I were hanging out in the front room of our homewood house. Dad had fallen asleep watching a WWII documentary. Every so often, he would give an answer or fact moments before the documentary would state that exact answer. This wasnt out of the ordinary. It was starting to thunderstorm outside and while still mostly asleep he mumbled to himself “buhbuhbangbuhbang”, mimicking the thunder. The three of us thought it was the FUNNIEST thing and died laughing.
-Kyle B.
I hadn’t heard this one in a while, so its a little hazy. in the 60s or 70s, dad was somewhere in the Denver area. Im assuming his car was broken, so he was hitchhiking down the interstate. After a while, someone came to pick him up. Dad told the guy where he wanted to go. The man sped up very quickly and something along the lines of “You’re coming with me boy!” and pulled out a gun. Without hesitation, Dad opened up the moving cars door, and jumped out, mostly unscathed, to live another day!
-Kyle B.
Marta and I were driving in Homewood with one of her friends when someone blew a red light and t-boned us. We were all ok, but called the police. Now the station was 2 blocks down the road, but Dad got to us much sooner. Once the police arrived, dad got mad that they took so long to show up. An officer told dad back away from him, not realizing he was our father. Of course, dad came over anyway. The Officer proceeded to get angry and make up a ticket called “Pedestrian in street” or a “PIS”. per usual, dad stood his ground and got out of it, but that was the time dad was issued a “PIS”!
-Kyle B.