My favorite memory with my Nano happens to be my last. Since moving to Virginia it has been difficult to get down to Florida to visit family as much as I would like. When Dean was one and a half I went down for three weeks and spent a good amount of time with Nana and Nano. Dean was at the stage where he would not go to strangers. He wouldn't go to Nana, Aunt Lisa, or Frankie but boy Nano walked in and Dean went running to him with arms up so Nano could pick him up. It was so cute to see how they hit it off and Dean would just laugh and laugh.
The best day was when Nana and Nano took Dean and me to the Ice Palace for a special event where it had been filled with plastic balls. Dean loved it and kept showing the balls to and playing with Nano (Nana and I were chopped liver, that is how much he adored Nano). My favorite part though was breakfast before we went. Nano asked if we wanted pancakes and if you have ever had Nano's pancakes you know that no one says no to Nano's pancakes. Dean had never had them and Nano asked how many he should get. I said to go ahead and give him three like the rest of us because I could always finish what he didn't eat. Nana and Nano both looked at me with disbelief, there was no way this tiny little boy was going to eat that many pancakes but Nano said, "You the boss" and made Dean three pancakes. He made Dean's first and brought him his plate. Dean ate all three of his pancakes before Nano even finished making the rest of ours and then proceeded to eat mine. The look on Nano's face was priceless but really what else could we expect, they were Nano pancakes! Dean has never devoured pancakes like that before or since. To celebrate and honor Nano's memory, tomorrow I will be attempting to make pancakes the way Nano did.
He touched so many lives and of course was a major part of our family's. We are going to miss him, his humor, his wit, and the great way he had with his grandchildren and great grandchildren but we will never forget him.
~Granddaughter Cherlyn (Dawn)