In the Sweet By and By.....

On October 2nd, my sweet Pop passed away.

Some may say he lost his fight against cancer, but I choose to think that he gained Victory and he is now healed. Pop was a musical man, and a lot of his talents spilled over to his children and grandchildren. I like to think that Pop is playing music in Heaven with some of the icons of his time.

When he passed away, I didn't make a big deal about it on social media. I didn't want Facebook to try to water down the hurt I was experiencing. I didn't want people who had never met him try to comfort me. I didn't want to have people "liking" a status that holds so much hurt for me. So....I didn't post anything. At all.  I'm just now able to blog about it......and even then, I'm simply copying and pasting!


Below gives a better description of Pop. This was submitted by my dad to the local newspaper:

On October 2, 2013, we lost a husband, Dad, helper and friend.  Our beloved Pop joined his Savior, his first born son, and family and friends in the twinkling of an eye.  If Heaven needed a harmonica player, guitar picker, or simply someone to lead the Angelic Choir in “Beautiful Star of Bethlehem,” then the Celestial City has it now.

If every cloud has a silver lining, then every loss contains a hidden gain.  Our loss was Mr. Grady……Our gain was You.  The outpouring of God’s spirit through His dear saints was quite simply….overwhelming.  Pop spent his final moments on earth surrounded by his family. And his family spent that time surrounded by God’s instruments of mercy, the dear people from the small communities that dot southeast Mississippi and southern Alabama.  You prayed, preached, and propped us up during this difficult time.  The food you provided was not only gourmet, it always came at a time when it was needed most.  We never dreamed that midnight dumplins’ could be so good or that “oooy-goooy bars” could soothe more than our sweet tooth.  The fresh vegetables you dropped off represented far more than your green thumb.  Cards, flowers, visits, meals and graveside singing reminded our family once again that the human spirit is alive and well, eager and willing to serve, eager and willing to share the burden of a grieving family.  Through Pop’s illness, we were also reminded that Heavenly Angels do, in fact, roam the earth, and they appear in the form of Home Health and Hospice Services.  Incredibly compassionate, incredibly professional, and incredibly gifted.

    If Pop could speak from the streets of gold, he would surely voice his gratitude for your love and support through his favorite little saying, “Great Goodness!!”  Great is our God for His Goodness made manifest through the lives of His servants in our little region of the world.  Thank You So Much.

The Family of Grady Walley