Grandson's tribute to a hero

I am emailing on behalf of my cousin Jamie and my older brother Matthew. 

We are the grandsons of Anna Vee and Jim Searle.  Our Grandpa Searle would have been 73 years old on July 29^th but unfortunately he was struck and killed while riding his bicycle just west of Stafford on November 4, 2009. 

Grandpa Searle was a great man.  Whether it was attending a live performance by Jamie, watching a movie with Matthew or coming to one of my football games both Grandpa and Grandma showed genuine interest in what each of us loved to do. 

2009 happened to be my senior year of high school.  Our graduating class was given an assignment early in the fall semester to write about our hero. 

Many of my classmates wrote about famous people in history or professional athletes.  Mine was an easy choice, and one that given the chance to write, my cousin and brother would have made as well.  I chose to write about my Grandpa Searle.   

We think about our Grandpa every day and continue to work hard to become the kind of men that he and Grandma will be proud of. 

Our Grandpa’s passing has been very difficult for our family and especially hard for my Grandma Searle. 

I do take comfort in knowing that my Grandpa was able to read my hero assignment only a few weeks before he passed away.  I would ask that you please consider publishing my hero paper as a tribute to both my Grandpa for his 73^rd birthday and for my Grandma for the way she has continued to love and support us even through the most difficult of times for her.  Thank you for your consideration.

Respectfully,

Brandon Searle

Essay -

Throughout the stages of my childhood, I have had many different heroes. The first hero that I can remember looking up to was Michael Jordan. I admired his never ending competitive attitude and his drive to succeed. As I moved into my middle school years, my second hero whom I greatly admired was Kirk Hinrich, a former basketball player for the University of Kansas. He was not as athletically gifted as some of the other players, but he had an incredible work ethic that allowed him to perform at the highest level. As I have moved into high school, I started to think more about my childhood heroes. I discovered that they all had common traits: a will to work hard, a drive to succeed, and sportsmanship that never wavered no matter the situation.  The more I though about these characteristics, I realized that there was someone in my life that had exhibited these traits and that is probably why I admired these other people so much. This person who has had tremendous influence on shaping my values and beliefs isn’t a famous athlete, isn’t a rich and famous person, this hero is my Grandpa Searle.

             Grandpa Searle was the fourth of six children. Growing up, he never really had anything that he could call his own, for example: a bike, toys, or clothes. He had two older brothers, from which he received many “hand-me-downs”. His family never took summer vacations, but they would always get together with the Chadd’s, relatives that lived close by for Sunday lunch after church. After lunch, they would enjoy playing football, baseball, or basketball. Grandpa would always tell me about his long journeys to school, no matter if it was raining, sleeting, or snowing, he always had to walk. I later found out from my Grandma that he only lived one block from his school!  Since Grandpa’s family did not have much money, he had to start working at a very early age. By the time he was eight, he had his own paper route which he would walk or ride his older brothers bike to deliver papers every day. All of the money that he made went to his parents in order to help pay the bills and provide food for the family. As he grew older, Grandpa started to mow lawns and work for the area farmers. He built a strong work ethic at an early age and must have realized that hard work and determination were the best ways to succeed that would allow him to help support his family.  The most valuable lesson I have learned from Grandpa’s childhood was that it did not matter how much money you have or how many possessions you own, what matters the most is working hard no matter what you are doing and spending time with family and friends.

             Soon after his teenage years, Grandpa started working for Halliburton Services. One day at work, he was dumping sacks of sand into an auger. Before he began, another worker had taken the lid off of the auger without Grandpa knowing this, and Grandpa stepped backward into it. He was in the auger for over forty-five minutes before the paramedics used a welding torch to cut him out. Once Grandpa was out of the auger and at the hospital, he was informed that his leg would have to be amputated just below the knee. Instead of feeling sorry for himself, he felt blessed to be alive. Although he could no longer play the sports that he loved, Grandpa focused on what really meant the most to him, his family. After his accident, he looked at life with a different prospective.  His family and friends took on even more importance to him due to all of the support and encouragement that he received while going through his recovery. The greatest lesson that I learned from the way my Grandpa handled his adversity was that no matter what happens in your life, good or bad, you should always remember and never take for granted what means the most to you, because you never know when it could all be taken away.

             Soon after Grandpa was released from the hospital, he returned to work. This was a true test of his character.  He could have either been bitter, given up and felt sorry for himself or continued to work hard and support his family. Thankfully, he passed the test and continued to drive a truck, although he had problems with severe sores on his residual limb. The hours he worked each week were brutal.  He usually was on the job between eighty to one hundred hours each week.  Summers were especially hard for him because of the heavy wool sock that he had to wear over his residual limb that allowed it to fit into his prosthesis. Although Grandpa had years and years of pain from sores on his residual limb, he never complained instead he continued to feel lucky just to be alive.   He eventually was able to transfer into a job as a dispatcher that scheduled trucks like the one he used to drive. Even though he was in the office, he still had “tough” hours. Grandpa worked from either four P.M. to midnight or from midnight to eight A.M. The greatest thing that I learned from my Grandpa’s work experience was that you should always give your best effort and keep feeling blessed, no matter how difficult the situation.  After thirty-five years of employment at Halliburton, Grandpa Searle retired. Whether or not he was feeling well or sick, he always went to work. He believed that a good work ethic was one of the most important qualities that a man could have. Grandpa also believed in respecting everyone around you. He thought that “Please” and “Thank-you” were two of the most important words that you could have in your vocabulary. One lesson that he always taught his kids was to respect their elders and to be kind to people who were not as fortunate as they were. The biggest thing that he wanted us all to remember was that family and friends are two of the most important things in our lives.

             Now that Grandpa has been retired for almost twenty years, he has had lots of time to settle down. He currently lives in Stafford, Ks, along with my Grandma. He is happy that he is healthy enough to enjoy playing golf, going fishing, and most importantly spending time with his family. He would say that, among these things, his biggest reward is getting to see his son and daughter happily living a successful life, and seeing his three grandsons grow into fine young men. I could not have asked for a better role model. Grandpa is always there when you need him.