Henry W. Beck

Yesterday was one of those peaceful Saturdays that I love so much.  David worked in the morning but the rest of the day was all to us :)

My Great Grandpa Beck was buried in Escalon, CA (Burwood Cemetery) which is only about 30 minutes from where we live.  So just before lunch we headed in that direction to search out his grave.  David and I are a little odd in that we find cemeteries relaxing.  When we were dating, he worked for the Provo Cemetery and after being around him enough, well, I just kind of find them relaxing.  Most cemeteries are quiet, well kept, and I just like to look around and wonder what kind of life these people lived.  I don't find anything creepy about it, actually. 

It took some time finding the grave but it was a nice day, the boys enjoyed being out, and the cemetery wasn't that big anyways.

 Henry W. Beck was my Grandpa (Larry) Beck's father.  This tombstone is a little misleading though.  After Henry died, his wife (Grandpa's step-mother) remarried and when she died she wanted to be buried by her new husband.  So, she had one of her friends buried next to Henry.  A little odd, but it is what it is.

David was the one who found the grave and once we all gathered there I had us all sit down around the grave.  I gave the family a little history lesson on my Great Grandfather.  

I have often wondered how people turn out the way that they do.  What makes them tick?  Why do some people react to things completely different from the next person?  After my Grandpa Beck had written to me some information on our family history, I learned that he was not raised by either his mother or father.  He was actually raised by his Grandmother (Henry's mother).  What would make both parents not raise their own flesh and blood?  After battling depression, I have a few good ideas but is that the same reason that Grandpa's parents didn't have a lot to do with him until he was older?  And even if it wasn't, I guess it really isn't my place to pass judgment.  Still, how could it not affect Grandpa and his sister?  Yet, later my Grandpa would ask to be transferred to a Navy base closer to his father who had been seriously hurt in an automobile accident.   What makes a man forgive another for wrongs that some would not even consider forgiving?  Is it because it is blood?  Is it how you are raised?  Or is it just in the personality you were sent to this Earth with?  A lot to ponder about but it was a wonderful lesson to teach my boys about forgiveness and people changing.