Grandpa Ewell's Obituary

Norman Grant Ewell 

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1929 ~ 2012
Norman, 82, returned home to his loving Father in Heaven on April 24, 2012.
He was born in Price, Utah, August 3, 1929, and moved thirteen times before joining the Air Force at age 17. He married Donna Rae Powell January 26, 1950, (sealed Sept. 21, 1968). They had three kids of their own, Norman (Dee), Terry and Connie, and Sandra from Donna's previous marriage. The family spent time in California, Idaho and Utah. His wife Donna passed away December 2, 1995 after nearly 46 years of marriage. Ten years later, he met and married Mary Adell O'Grady while working in the Jordan River Temple. They subsequently moved to California where he later passed away due to complications of congestive heart failure. Norman had a special spark about him and was loved by all who knew him. He was quick witted and enjoyed teasing his grandchildren. There are many outside of his own family that embraced him as 'Grandpa'. He was a gifted craftsman and loved being busy with a project. He was a jack-of-all-trades and did whatever was required to provide for his family.
Norman is survived by his wife Mary Adell and her very large loving family. Siblings: Barbara (Kenneth) Davies, Walter (Florence) Ewell and Harriett (Ramon) Swapp. Children: Sandra Porisky, Norman (Caroline) Ewell, Terry (Dana) Ewell and Connie (Dave) Christensen. He had 15 grandchildren plus 23 great grandchildren with one on the way and he loved them all. His family has peace knowing he was a great man who loved the Lord and His church. Norman will be buried next to his loving wife Donna in West Valley City, Utah.
Memorial services held, Tuesday May 8, 2012 at 11:00 a.m. in the LDS Chapel on 4147 West 9800 South in South Jordan. Valley View Memorial Park at 4335 West 4100 South will be the site of his final resting place.

Published in Deseret News on April 29, 2012

Remembering Grandpa Norman Grant Ewell

My Dad called this morning to tell me my Grandpa Ewell had passed. We knew this was coming but it was still a shock. I don't know what to do with myself so I thought I'd right down a few of my thoughts. Grandpa Ewell has such a special place in my heart. He lived with us since I was in 3rd Grade. When I was in college he remarried and a few years later him and his wife moved to California. It was so hard when he moved away. We all were so used to having him near and him acting like a second father. 

Grandpa was an amazing man. He worked in the temple and was able to officiate at my endowment session. He loved the gospel and our Savior Jesus Christ.  He is in a better place now and knowing that he is with my Grandma Ewell (who passed away when I was in 3rd grade) makes me happy. 

Grandpa was a joy to be around. He was always cracking jokes and trying to make you smile. He gave the best hugs and always made me feel special. The past few weeks we've talked on the phone a few times and even though it was hard for him to talk, I could feel his spirit so strong and knew he loved me.

Last summer we were able to have a few hours with him in California. I will always cherish these moments. I am so happy Wesley got to meet his Great-Grandpa. Wesley loved him from the start, but who couldn't. Wesley's middle name, Grant, is actually after my Grandpa and my Dad. 

This is all I can manage to write at the moment. However my Dad asked me to write my Grandpa's obituary so I will dedicate a few more post to him I'm sure. I love my Grandpa and am glad he is no longer in pain. 

Our 18 Month Old!

Wesley has grown so much in the past month. He has gotten busier, more independent, and more needy at the same time. He came with us to find out the gender of baby #2 and ever since my ultrasound he has been so clingy. He still wants to run off and play on his own but when he decides he wants me to hold him he will do anything to make it happen. I will be cooking dinner and he will get in front of me push me away from the stove and put his arms up. It's pretty cute but it's getting harder to cart him around with my growing belly. 

His Stats:

Weight- 26 lb 9.2 oz (60.05%)

Height- 32" (43%) 

Head 18.5" (28%)

Some new stuff he's doing:

• Started signing "want" and does it ALL the time and has gotten better at please (still signs milk, food, all done, more).
• Moos when you ask what the cow says and roars for what does the lion say
• New words are "uck" for duck, "ro" for Rosie, (still says Moma, Dada, hi, owie, uh-oh, ball, no, yes, huh,) he talks all the time and totally knows what he is saying, unfortunately we haven't figured it all out yet. 
• Knows where his eyes, nose and mouth are.
• Can play with cars all day long, I love the vrooms and other noises he makes for them.
• Started nursery a few weeks ago and LOVES it. He waves goodbye to me and runs off to play.
• Climbed out of his crib once (we finally took his beloved bumper out, that was a bit of a transition for him)
• Runs to his bedroom and grabs his binki out of his crib when he is ready for a nap or bed before we put him down (he isn't allowed to have his binki other than sleep and tried to sneak it all day)
• Favorite foods include: pretzels, strawberries, broccoli, cheese, and pears.
• Has a love for jelly beans (just like Phil)
• Loves books and brings them to me constantly throughout the day
• Loves being around kids
• Enjoys standing on a chair to watch me cook
• Wants to walk everywhere we go and refuses to hold hands... working on that one
• Has shortened his (2) 2 hour naps to (2) 1 hour naps. I want to move him to 1 nap hoping it'll be at least 2 hrs but he isn't quite ready for that. 
• Is a daredevil and always has a bump or bruise
• I'm sure there is more but I'll stop here :)

Playing with his cars

He is crazy silly

Showing off his new bruise on his cheek. He fell at Chic Fil A in the play place. It was a lot darker yesterday.

Has figured out how to get on the counter tops, naughty boy.

 The next two pictures were taken by his sweet nursery leader. I"m so glad she took these so I can peak into his new life. He loves having something of his own.

I just love seeing him sit by his friends!

Love this kid

Easter

Easter is one of my favorite holidays. It is a great reminder of our Savior and the sacrifices he made for us. Here is a short video that I love. The music is beautiful (*warning* it can make you teary). 

Easter morning Wesley came out and saw that the Easter bunny came. He saw all the baskets and than went straight to the biggest one (his of course). 

He was so happy to get a few new cars.

That morning before church we turned on a Easter veggie tales to help remember the Savior. As you can see Wesley LOVED it and also wanted to sit pretty close to Dad (as did Rosie). 

New shirt and tie for church.

After Church Mom, Bob, and Todd came over for dinner. I forgot to take a picture of the spread but it was all SOO yummy! Marsha brought our favorite potato casserole and ham. We made deviled eggs, a 7 layer salad, cooked carrots, rolls, and some desserts.  

Once we let our food settle a little Phil and Todd hid some eggs in the back yard and Wes had a solo Easter egg hunt. Not much competition but he still loved it. He wanted to open every egg and got jelly beans all over the grass.

Leave it to a toddler to find a way to make jelly beans messy. 

Phil and I made cake pops the night before. My favorite are the chubby chicks but we also did Easter basket and eggs balls. They were delish! I also stuffed strawberries with cream cheese. Those were a hit and Wesley slurped down 2. I have never seen him eat a strawberry so fast. 

We also watched To This End Was I Born. Such a good movie and again made me teary. It is so hard to comprehend the Saviors loving sacrifice. We had such a great day. We only wish we could have been with the rest of our family!

Enjoying the Weather

The weather has been in the 80s lately so we've been trying to enjoy it. Wesley LOVES being outside. He darts for the door anytime we open it.  He got to play in the sprinklers 3 times last week and would have stayed out all day if I let him.  I swear this kid isn't afraid of anything.

 Getting a little drink

This kid makes me so happy. Cannot wait until next summer when 2 little boys are running around. 

A baby brother!

We are happy to announce that Wesley will be getting a baby brother! We went in for the ultrasound today and everything looked great. We were a bit distracted during the ultrasound because Wesley came with us and did not want to sit down. He was concerned about me and had to sit on the table next to me for a bit. Then he just wanted to get out of there and kept trying to open the door, ha ha. Unfortunately for Phil that made him on baby duty and didn't get to see as much as I did. Right when the ultrasound was turned on baby started moving, waving, and wigging. We also got to see him yawn. I was distracted at the moment when the tech asked if I saw "that in between the legs". I quickly said "we're having a boy?!?"  I really couldn't believe it at first, for some reason Phil and I both thought we were having a girl ha-ha. We couldn't be happier to add another little boy to our family. We know Wes will be a great big brother and that he will enjoy having boy to play with. 

Now we need to think of a name for little man. Also, we should probably start cleaning out the office so baby has a place to sleep! I just love that we can call baby a he now rather than "the baby".