This post is the 2nd of 2.
Below our family would like to share with you the 3 speeches (Alison-Daughter, Libby-Daughter and Tyler-Granddaughter) and Eulogy that were given at my dads celebration of life service.  They are long but worth reading.  Thanks.

Speech #1-Alison Pollard Boseck

Speech #1-Alison Pollard Boseck (daughter)

My name is Alison and I am the oldest of Paul’s 4 daughters.  Thank you to everyone for coming. This means a lot to my family that you are all here today to celebrate the memory and life of my dad.   Funny enough, my dad always joked that there was no need to have a large church or venue when he died b/c no one was going to come to his funeral.  He always said that we should just do a Viking send off by putting him in a boat and floating him out to sea, preferably in a canoe.  Over the last few days with all of the outpouring of love and support from the community and friends and family, my mother jokingly said, “I think we are going to need a bigger boat”. 

When my dad was diagnosed with Cancer in October, we felt that we had been given the gift of knowing we had some time.  Time to love him, time to care for him, time to remember all the great times with him growing up and time to make sure that in the 3 months we had left with him that nothing went unsaid, and for that we are eternally grateful.

Today I will share with you a few of the memories that we have of our dad.  I’m sure that in my walk down memory lane some of these may be your memories of him as well.

I will start by saying that Paul jinx'd himself early on.  See Paul had a best friend growing up name Jimmy Miles and the two were life long friends.  When my mom and dad got married in the summer of 1970, Jim was a groomsman in the wedding and Cathy, Jim’s wife who was pregnant with their first child, was also in attendance. My dad went up to Cathy on his wedding day and stated to her “You’re going to have all girls and I am going to have all boys and all of my boys are going to chase all of your girls”.  Hmm.  Well we know how that turned out.  Paul was soon blessed with 4 daughters and Jim and Cathy with 5 sons.  

Paul growing up an outdoors man and boy scout probably wanted all boys but that didn’t stop him from being head over heals crazy in love with 4 daughters.  In fact, he didn’t treat us any differently.  We hiked, camped, canoed, did yard work, took the garbage out, mowed the lawn and loved every minute of it (well at least some of it we did).  He taught us to be independent, work hard, be proud of our accomplishments, be kind and love others, always give to others who are less fortunate and be thankful for everything in life we have been given. Not bad values to be raised with.

My father at times was like a 5th child in our family.  My poor mother.  One of our earliest memories was his invention of “Sunday Afternoon Tap Dance parties”.   The second we would get home from church and be standing in the kitchen for lunch, he would yell “Tap Dance Party” and would start tap dancing in his penny loafers on the kitchen floor.  This would get all four of us in our little black Patton leather Sunday shoes tapping away making so much noise as all 5 of us would be having a dance party in the kitchen.  My mother would call out, OK PAUL.  That’s enough Paul.  Paul!!! And he would just laugh and laugh with his hand over his chest because he thought it was just the funniest thing to get us all riled up every Sunday afternoon.

He was always a pretty funny guy.  Growing up we always thought he looked a little like Alan Alda and had the sense a humor of Chevy Chase and Steve Martin.  Always making a joke, always telling a funny story, and if you have seen the posters of pictures we made for the calling hours, he was always making a funny face. He was the original photo bomber before photo bombing became a thing.  He was funny our whole lives.  Right up to the very end.  Even in his final days, he sang songs, had nicknames for his nurses and would say the goofiest stuff to get us laughing.  It was hard to be sad and he wouldn’t have wanted it any other way because that is just who he was. The day before he passed away he had his eyes closed most of the day and was very silent. Libby said to him, “Dad can I get you anything”.  And in a very quiet whisper, he said “a smoke”. We just burst out laughing as he hadn’t had a cigarette in over 35 years.  Yes, Kept us laughing to the very end.

Dad was also a collector of sorts.  But his collections were a little different.  He collected things like:  

• Tshirts-He had to have a tshirt from where ever he went.  If a restaurant had a tshirt, he had to have it.
• Cross Country skis?  -Enough to outfit our entire church for ski outings.
• Movies. Hundreds and hundreds of VHS movies.  He could have rented them out of our house, he had so many.
• And one of the strangest collections, Shampoo.  But hey when you have 4 teenage daughters all with long hair, a Shampoo collection may be the way to go. 

In addition to this, he also had a record collection.  He had a love for quite a range of different kinds of music.  His favorites by far were Johnny Mathis and the Beattles.  He also loved the beachboys, Ray Charles, Billy Holiday, Patsy Cline, and anything Franky Valle.  He could do the best Franky Valle impressions ever with his high pitched voice singing “Sherry Baby”.   In the seventies we listened to a lot of ABBA and in the 80’s he would belt out his radio favorites “Just another Manic Monday” by the Bangles and “she drives me crazy” by the fine young cannibals.  Which I’m sure wasn’t because he was living with 7 women in our house as my grandmother and great-grandmother also lived with us for many years.  My dad didn’t just sing along with the music.  He was very expressive.  He sang with a funny voice, had hand movements and facial expressions to go along with it.  He was very comical whenever he sang.  Many times he would even change the words.  He would sing songs putting the word Jekyll in it somewhere after his beloved Jekyll Island.  For example:  The theme song to the show WKRP in Cincinnati.  “Baby if you’ve ever wondered, wondered what ever became of me I’m living on the beach in Jekyll.  Jekyll Island Georgia Yes siree” or Gladys Knight and the Pips  “He’s leaving on that midnight train to Jekyll”.  You get the point.

 In fact he had a whole Jekyll language and could often be heard saying to his family:  It’s a Jekylly day outside, Its Jekyll Fun day, Mr Jekyll.  The grandchildren LOVED when he spoke in Jekyll speak and just thought it was the funniest thing.  Our beloved Jekyll island will never be the same without him.

Jekyll Island where our family vacationed every year was always the common denominator between all of us.  But outside of that, my dad made sure to have a common interest with each of us as well.  Megan and Libby continued to Camp, Hike and Kayak with my dad even long after the family trips to the Adirondacks had ended.  He and Hannah would often be found shopping, collecting antiques or fixing up old houses together.  And Dad and I both had a passion for genealogy spending many hours researching online and traipsing through cemeteries of family and loved ones that came before us.  A trip to England was in the works to visit my grandmother’s hometown next summer and also a book with all of our family’s’ history and photos documented.  At the end of his life he shared with me everything he knew so that I could continue on with both.  He won’t be there for either but now they will proudly be done in his memory. 

In searching through photo albums and scrapbooks this week I came across some of my Dad’s top 10 lists.  I had forgotten all about these list that he used to type up while at work and mail out to different friends and family members.  In David Letterman style, the topics would be things like ; The top 10 things Paul will do now that he is retired, the top 10 things you need to know to determine if you have an illness called Jekyllitis”  and one of my favorites:  The top 10 things Paul will do to survive 3 daughters getting married in one year (listing such things as; Learn how to pronounce his sons in laws Polish, German and Hungarian last names.  Is it BOzack, BAsack, Bo-sECK, Salay or Zalay, watching movies like Father of Bride both the new and the original versions, and rob a Bank to pay for it all), maybe you too have even received one of Paul’s Famous Top 10 lists.

So in honor of my dad, I will give the Top 10 list of things we will miss most about Paul Pollard:

Number:

#10.  All of the funny sayings he had such as:

• If you asked him Where are you going? He would answer- “Buffalo Raceway no children allowed”
• What do you want to drink?- “Whisky in a dirty glass”, or
• Can you get me something from the kitchen?- “What do I look like, the Bus Boy”?

#9.  Making goofy faces in every photo we take. 

#8.  Yelling, “today’s Jekyll Fun day”

#7.  Random spelling Bees at the dinner table making us spell words like Deuteronomy or Hootie-saper-ticker  (which I don’t even think was a word but was always on the list)

#6.  His Sense of Fashion.  He was always a snappy dresser typically found wearing a vneck sweater and bowtie.  The grandkids would laugh when my dad would point to the bedroom dresser and say “Now that’s a snappy dresser”.  As you may notice today, all of the grandsons are wearing pop pops bowties in his honor.  Today they are all snappy dressers.

#5.  Spending time with him on Jekyll Island, especially sitting out on the deck over the ocean eating Fish Tacos and fried shrimp.  Or going to Nick’s on Thursdays for Fried Chicken and Ocra

#4.  His love of music and serenading us, we will never hear your favorite songs the same way again.

#3.  His ability to tell a great story and always keep us laughing.

#2.  His love for his family.  Spending great amounts of time with each of us, teaching us things, learning our interests and being so proud of all of our accomplishments.

#1.  His never-ending love for my mother.  Because even in his final days he made sure to tell her a 100 thousand times how much he loved her.

One of my sisters had asked him on a trip to Roswell one day, “Do you have a bucket list? Is there anything in your life that you would like to accomplish that you feel you haven’t”. He responded “no”.  He then went on to state, He had married the love of his life, had 4 beautiful daughters and 9 grandchildren.  He retired early, he went back to college to become a chef, He lived on his Island paradise for many years and became a historical curator which was a lifelong dream.  He golfed several times a week, had hiked high mountains and kayaked many streams.  He had traveled to England twice in his life to visit his grandparents.  He was surrounded by the love of family and friends. -no, he did not have a bucket list, in his book he had accomplished it all. 

A gentleman that I had worked with many years ago reached out to me just after my dad had passed away.  After reading my CaringBridge post, He said “Reading your beautiful and heartfelt words makes me hope that when it is time for me to go that I am too surrounded by those I love… Your father can genuinely know that he left his part of the world a better place than when he got here and what more could one ask for?”  the things in your life that are truly valuable are those which you hold dear in your heart – and the wonderful thing about that is that no one can ever take it from you and that you CAN take it with you.  Your father surely died a wealthy man…”  He sure did and we too feel very blessed to have had him in our lifes.  WE truly are the wealthy ones.  Thank you

Speech #2-Libby Pollard Woodroe (daughter)

DADS ARE GREAT, MINE-AMAZING- in our family....

They are just amazing! They’re our first hero, and sometimes our last. They are our first teachers of the world.  They praise you and they do have to Punish you and you probably deserve it. And all of it is good for you! And honestly you know it!

They pick you up when you fall from an early age and set you back to right until you can do it on your own.  They teach you how to tie your shoes, how to swim, how to ride a bike, how to drive a car and in my case they teach you how to write insurance and make a living.  Dads teach you that when faced with a problem it’s ok to ask for help. My dad taught me all of those things -but most important of those things -he taught me - was to not be scared!

He showed me that in the face of dangers, in the face of snares, in the actual face of death he had no doubts when leaning on his faith as a Christian. The one thing That he knew :

My Pahp he knew a very special carpenter who built a room perfect for him.  He taught me that forgiveness is a real thing- and he was the best at it-But he taught me to be too!!  No matter what harebrained thing I’d come up with or do- he may not have liked it ..  but he always learned to accept it and or always had forgave me.

He taught me that I was so much stronger than I gave myself credit for and to keep marching because I could do anything.  He taught me to love the outdoors, camping, hiking, mountain biking and even as much as he didn’t like it- he taught me to love fishing!! So crazy !

He taught me the love of the arts, music and theater.  And to do so, -he took us -absolutely everywhere possible! Just so that we could experience many new beautiful cultures.  At one point I remember him asking my mom if he could take us girls to see Arlo Guthrie at Art Park, we were a bit young and mom said just not yet Paul-sooo PTP!

He taught us that even if you had experiences which seemed difficult! there’s always an end and ALWAYS a new beginning.  A fresh start so to speak.  Through the years- he showed me that he loved my mom so much! Right up to the very end! He trusted her beyond compare to anyone!

He showed me that a good relationship is built on the yin and the yang, the TO and the FRO and as my dad referred to the Zingy and Zaggy. (Bobsled at Lake Placid) He showed me how to Be strong when your partner just can’t. Because that’s Life!

He taught me so much about bravery! That same bravery, for example.. Pahp told me the same night he was diagnosed with BRAIN CANCER! He said that if his mom was still here, she’d tell him to BE BRAVE!! “And so ...he was”!  He was SO DAMN Brave, the whole time! Not once- did he reveal one ounce of his earthly fears!  

When we 4 girls were very little our parents took a trip to Jekyll Island, the two of them ALONE!  They returned and knew that this was the place for what my dad later referred to as the Jekyll 6!  That this would be our special place. Year after year, every Easter my parents would pack us up dressed in our jammies in the big old station wagon in sleeping bags with board games, a cooler of sandwiches, and we’d make a “straight through” trip to our beloved Jekyll Island. It took nearly 20 hours to get there. It was surly an adventure. On the way, we girls would repeatedly say “are we there yet”? How much longer? My Pahp would say -were getting there -just be patient. Just wait girls, when we get there we’ll all race over the dunes and run to the shore and say hello to the ocean!  On I-95 We girls -we would spot the exit for Jekyll and get so excited!!

So to paint a picture for you......... 

as soon as you get off the interstate and approach the entrance to Jekyll Island there are two huge pillars on both sides of you that you cross through almost Like special pearly gates. The causeway following is very long and it seems to take forever.  Then you cross the bridge and come up to a little cedar shake building which is surrounded by the most beautiful flowers where the aroma is overwhelming.  There you pay the toll and proceed down a beautiful Oceanside road where the smell of the ocean waves just hit you!

My dad then would pull into the little motel where we stayed where at the time was called the Jekyll Estates. It’s then and there we’d all pour out of the car and run with our Dad under the “Spanish Moss” covered oakes across the grounds of the motel over the dunes and finally run as fast as we could to or magnificent ocean!  We would squeal with excitement- barefooted -in the surf and soon would be soaking in wet sand covered pajamas! MY DAD, my sisters-and I, WE WERE FINALLY IN OUR OWN HEAVEN!! (Our poor mom had to deal with that kind of mess afterwards)

The night my dad was dying, that’s exactly how I’d pictured it. He’d trucked through a rough long ride, he’d exited the interstate, covered the long-long causeway through the marsh and he’d crossed that bridge, he had paid his toll, he was surrounded by the aromatic scents of his amazing new home!

But he was hanging on but a thread. He just wouldn’t give in -he was so DAMN STRONG! !  He was So brave! He was as always very stubborn.  So we made one last phone call to my mom, his special Girl- for that “final goodbye”,  Again- he trusted her -he trusted her with his Life! Then and only then -it was as if he now knew it was ok! 

We said it’s ok Pahp- you’ve made it!! The trip is over, Just race over the dunes and say hello to the ocean it’s your turn. Right then and there I felt it, it happened!  HE WAS OFFICIALLY OFF! He was off to HIS BOUNTIFUL SEASHORE! -AND HE JUST RAN!! MY PAHP- (PAUL-POP) HE SO DESERVES HEAVEN! HE JUST DOES HE WORKED SO VERY HARD AT LIFE!!

Speech #3:Tyler Boseck (Granddaughter)

My grandfather went by many nicknames. Before I was born he told the family that he would go by any name as a grandfather, but there was no way that he would ever go by PopPop. Well that’s exactly what we ended up calling him-sorry!

PopPop went by many names, pops, PopPop beetle bop, and Elvis. He got this nickname when a few of us grandkids were exploring the upstairs rooms of 126 N Main and saw this framed picture hanging on the wall. We all thought that PopPop looked a lot like Elvis, and the name stuck. It wasn’t until a few years ago that we realized that the picture is neither PopPop nor Elvis…it was JFK.  No matter what we called him he was Paul Pollard, and everyone knew that name. We became instant celebrities in Jekyll and Lyndonville when people would find out that we were Paul Pollard’s grandchildren. This was a true testament to how loved he was by everyone.

I wanted to share some of the favorite memories of the grandkids:

1.       Ashley’s favorite memory is when she used to spend the night in their house and play Lincoln logs on the floor. Pop would join and say, “what are we building boss?”. When it was time to go to bed he would always remember to move the iron Lincoln head because it made her cry.

2.      Abi’s favorite memory is riding on his tour trolley in Jekyll. She’d sit up front with the clicker to the gates as he’d talk, and she’d follow him around for the entire tour as his little helper. He’d always say “the Spanish moss on the trees isn’t Spanish and it isn’t moss. It’s actually a part of the pineapple family”. She also loved riding bikes with him and going to the driving range together.

3.      Luke’s favorite memory was sitting on PopPop’s lap for our family picture and watching PopPop ride his bike around.

4.      Hayden said he loved going on bike rides through Lyndonville. Then he’d take Hayden to the village playground and then out for ice cream at the penny saver.

5.      Jaymie’s favorite memory was when PopPop would take her golfing on Jekyll. Also, he always said “do you know what day it is?...it’s Jekyll fun day!”

6.      Brandon said he loved walking along the beach with PopPop and his siblings searching for sand dollars with their plastic shovel and bucket. 

7.      Tyler-Some of my favorite memories of PopPop are all of the days and weekends spent at the cottage on Rushford Lake. Especially when him and Nonnie put on Camp Pollard. He took us canoeing and hiking. Also, a few years ago, he also took Abi, Ashley and I to the Women’s Suffrage museum. PopPop was always eager to teach us new things about nature and history.

8.      Gavin-Loved playing golf on Jekyll Island with Pop Pop

9.      Andrew’s favorite memories is when PopPop was teaching him to golf and he would place his feet around the cup to make the whole really big.   Also, once him and PopPop were playing golf at Great Dunes on Jekyll and they both got the ball in the hole by chipping it in. He said “are you kidding me” after Drew made it, and then smiled and laughed after he made the same chip also getting the ball in the hole.

So many of our memories with PopPop were shared, like the 4th of July and all of our vacations to Jekyll Island, yet there are countless other memories that are just our own. But whether we had 20 years or 4 years with PopPop and no matter how and when each of us became a part of the Pollard family, he loved us all equally and uniquely and gave us memories that we will hold dear to our hearts for the rest of our lives. If this whole experience has taught me anything it is that the Lord shows His love to us through the people that He puts in to our lives. I am so grateful that we each have our memories to not only think about when we miss our PopPop but to remember the incredible love of Christ.

Euglogy-Rev Devine:
Amazing grace! How sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found; Was blind, but now I see.    

 

The third verse of Amazing Grace states...                         

Through many dangers toils and snares I have already come                       

'tis grace have brought me safe thus far and grace will lead me home. 

 That verse speaks to our hope this afternoon for Paul.  God’s grace leads us home. Home not in Medina or Yates Center or Jekyll Island or Lyndonville, but home with our Creator, 

 Truly Paul passed through many dangers and snares in his life. I was privileged to help Paul through some of those snares. But these last few months, the snare of Cancer was too great.  When he was at the Hospice residence Paul expressed his desire to go home. He asked the family and staff,  “Help me find my shoes so I can go home.”

I can tell you why Paul had such difficulty finding his shoes… because I had them. Well, at least one pair. One pair of the hundreds that Paul purchased through the years. (I’m sure I’m not the only person who has a pair or two of Paul’s shoes).  If you aren’t familiar these they are cross-country ski boots. To me these shoes are emblematic of Paul’s life and the joy the Eagle Scout found in God’s creation and his pleasure in sharing that joy with others.

 Let’s get the bad puns out of the way. Looking at the different parts of the shoe we could say Paul was a good soul… But I think Paul in his self-deprecating humor would be quick to quip, “Steve, what if I’m just the heel.”  We all liked Paul’s dry wit and humor.

 Bad jokes aside, for many years in the summer months Paul would travel to garage sales looking to buy up every 3 pin cross country shoe and skis and poles he could find.  $5 or less per outfit was his goal. Paul’s intent was to supply as many children as possible, including our boys Dave & Dan, and the rest of the Sunday School with ski equipment.

 Actually it was during these weeks after Christmas the church family would often gather on Sunday afternoons and go cross-country skiing.  Paul ran kind of a revolving loan shoe program; when your kids out grew their boots you’d trade them in. And the cycle continued. (I’m holding to these for our grandchildren.. to tell them about their Great Uncle Paul) In later years when Paul wasn’t quite up to skiing himself, he still met up with the group. One fond memory I have is Paul down at Golden Hill, his Jeep parked against the wind coming across Lake Ontario.  Paul is tucked under the back lift hatch, wearing his fur lined mad bomber hat, with his Coleman camp stove ablaze, warming up hot chocolate for the skiers. (Once he went to culinary school things really got exciting!)

 For me it was Paul’s way of translating the admonition of Jesus “Allow the little children to come to me, and do not hinder them because the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these.” (Matthew 19:14)

 In the summertime Paul’s Kingdom of Heaven moved from the snowy lakeshore to the Mountains.  Three letters encompassed his joy. ADK.   In the Adirondacks Paul’s love of nature shown brightly in his camping ability and again in his willingness to direct children to the wonders of God’s creation.  Nick’s Lake, Blue Mountain, Marcy Dam, Brown’s Tract, to name a few were Paul’s special haunts. As a family the Devine’s were privileged to be part of those camping experiences as we struggled to soar with the Eagle.

 On more than one occasion Paul reflected on the familiar Psalm 121: I lift my eyes unto the hills … (Read Psalm 121)   Surely we should remember those words today for our loved one, who has passed through many dangers, toils and snares, whose journey up the Mountain, now and forever, has been directed by his loving Creator.

 Yet we remain sometimes question why God allows the journey to lead through the snares of Cancer. The Apostle after whom Paul is named, wrote those encouraging words Scott read Paul was writing to the faithful in Rome whose children were being thrown to the dogs… men and women thrown to the lions… (Read Romans 8:28-39) 

 That’s what we hold onto today… not these shoes, but the faith Paul Thomas Pollard held in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.  

 Paul had a terrific grip on that faith. And he was not afraid to publically display his belief in Jesus.  A few years back there was a Billy Graham Associate Crusade at the County Fair grounds. One night after John Wesley White gave the invitation to come forward, a familiar face was down front to rededicate his life to the faith that was nurtured as a child in the Medina Presbyterian Church. Paul looked up and gave me a nod and a smile.  That night, Paul came to re-profess a faith that truly understands: Nothing in this world, not even Cancer, will ever separate us from the love of God that is ours in Christ Jesus…

 In the words of Isaiah that Andrew read earlier: ”Young men may stumble and fall but those who put their hope in the Lord will renew their strength, they will mount on wings like eagles, they will run and not be weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

 You see my friends; Eagle Paul Thomas Pollard has traded in his shoes for wings;  The Eagle now soars in his home eternal in the heavens.  Hallelujah Amen!

 It is we who remain who must find a way to take hold of that same faith Paul found in Jesus our Christ. For it is in times like this Jesus gives you and me an invitation to faith. When Jesus was about to be separated from his beloved disciples, we comforted them with these words (Read John 14ff) 

 Amazing grace! How sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found; Was blind, but now I see.

 Through many dangers, toils and snares I have already come                      

'tis grace have brought me safe thus far and grace will lead me home.