Journal entry by Shannon Mondeaux —
With heavy hearts, today we celebrate the life of my wonderful father, Brendan Michael Griswold. He passed away peacefully in the middle of the night, after being in a coma-like state for almost two days. He undoubtedly put up a good fight and exhibited much determination all the way until his final breath. Furthermore, knowing that he was always a giving and sacrificial man, we donated his body to the University of Utah Body Donor Program. His beautiful blue eyes will also be taken to be used as a donation to someone in need. We are so happy to donate his body for a good cause, especially when we know that he now has an extraordinary glorified body that does not experience any pain or sorrow!
The storm of all storms has passed and now we move forward into an aftershock as we navigate through grief. Nevertheless, though our family grieves for the absence of his presence here on earth, we celebrate his presence in heaven. Many of you knew about Dad’s love for the Lord, and it is the only reason our family has hope for the future. Still many of you may skim over the next few sentences that I write, solely due to its religious nature. However, I KNOW that he would want everyone who mourns today—no matter what your faith—to seriously contemplate and believe in the words of the Bible. Even before he passed, he wanted nothing more than for his friends and family to hear and understand that eternal salvation is not earned. Rather, he is spending the rest of his days in the presence of God simply because he believed in Jesus’ death. He would want you to know that there is, in fact, an afterlife [which can even be proved from thousands of account of near death experiences—for those of you who like scientific evidence, check out this book that changed my perspective and gave me hope: “Imagine Heaven” by John Burke]. If you want to honor him, I know it would have meant a great deal to him if you made that decision today or, at the very least, ponder where you’re going after this life!
To all our family and friends who have supported us through prayer, meals, and kind words: THANK YOU. You’ve made this journey a little less excruciating and enabled us to spend the time we needed with him before he passed. We appreciate his brothers and other family members who have come to spend time with him (which I am certain allowed him to finally let go) and have helped around the house. Thank you for reading our blog posts and comforting us through various formats.
Cancer deteriorated his body, but it certainly didn’t deteriorate his soul. He remained strong, gracious, kind, and hospitable throughout the many family and friend visitations. We had wonderful visits and phone calls with loved ones; he especially loved meeting his brand new grandson, Conner! ❤️ Even when the baby wasn’t in the room, he would ask how the baby is doing. He repeatedly commented, “WOW”, or “Oh boy!” when he caught the glimpse of Aimee and her two-week old son. While he was a little rough around the edges (most of the time), he had a heart that was as fragile as it was tender. I cherish yet mourn the moment of our daddy-daughter dance when all he could whisper was, “I love you. I don’t tell you that enough.” For many years I struggled with how to respond to this comment that obviously weighed on his soul. Several weeks ago, he said it again, and I finally reassured him, “You tell me you love me often, Daddy, but you’ve always SHOWN me you love me as long as I’ve lived. You’ve shown me that love is an action.” Nonetheless, it brings tears to my eyes to think about his last, semi-comatose days... With every ounce of energy he had in his exhausted body, he would always respond to our “love you”s, with, “I love you too”. I retell these memories not for my own sake, but for yours, as death has one universal reasoning: We must whole-heartedly hold fast the people we have here on earth with an unconditional, unrelenting love. We are too easily distracted with preoccupied schedules and matters of this world, but our lives can be taken in one simple, fleeting moment. So if you cared for him, live on in the legacy of Brendan—one that is eternal and founded on love. Let this be encouraging to you, and do not let another moment be wasted.
“But we do not want you to be uninformed about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.”
1 THESSALONIANS 4:13-14
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