A Tribute to Grandfathers

To the men who make our lives possible. To the men who put "Grand" in Grandpa/Grandfather. To the men of knowledge. To the men of good will. Where would we be without you today? That's just it- some of us are without you. Some of us are just starting to taste the sorrow and pain of death. We miss you. 

To John Lowell Maughan: 

A man of knowledge. A man of teaching. A man of classical music. A man of family. A man of steal the rock games. A man of wisdom. A man of love. A man of light. A man of example. A man of righteousness. A man of service. A man of laughs. A man of bike rides. A man of tinkering. A man of gardening. A man of farming. A man of integrity. A man of virtue. A man of faith. A man of the spirit. A man of the sky. A man of dedication. A man of hard work. A man of God.

Grandpa, you've led an amazing life and taught us well. We will always look up to you and remember you. Your family could not be more happy with you at this time. It is hard to see you go, and we will miss you always. Though this is a trying time, we know you have lived your life as full as you possibly could overflowing enough that you probably could have filled someone else's life with your teachings and knowledge. We've learned that life is too short to live with regrets. And now your spirit has sweetly left us. So go! Run and jump as we think of the good times and as your legacy lives in us. We love you J. Lowell Maughan! 

Memories of J. Lowell:

-When I was just a little kid and my whole life growing up, I had always known St. George as my grandparents home base. Although they lived and raised a family in Idaho, they moved to St. George soon after their youngest daughter moved away for school. Around St. George there are lots of bike trails. Whenever we would go down to visit Grandpa and Grandma my brother and I would go on a bike ride with Grandpa. Because I was so little I wasn't able to keep up, so Grandpa being the tinkerer that he was, rigged up a good little system for me. On his bike he put a piece of carpet on the cross bar for me to sit on. He also put PBC pipe sticking out the side of the front wheel for me to put my feet on. One time, however, I got my foot caught in the spokes of the moving wheel while we were out on a ride. All I remember is being in one of those crazy little port-a-crib things with a bloody foot and paper towels. The neighbor and Grandpa were standing there looking down at me and now I have a cool scar to show for it.
-Grandpa used to always go around to all the yard sales! My brother and I would go along with him and try to convince him to give us a dollar or two so we could buy the latest greatest thing! I remember trying to convince him to give us money for the craziest things. A few of the things I remember my brother trying to convince him of was a motor cycle, a gun, and much more!
-Steal the rock game. Grandpa always had a small rock in his pocket that he would hold out in his hand and the little kids would try to 'steal the rock' out of his hand before he could close his palm up. I remember that I eventually got good enough that I could steal the rock and I would make Grandpa steal it back! I finally graduated from being the one to try and steal the rock, to carrying around my own rock that grandpa had given me. He played this game with everyone! Grandchildren, people at yard sales, neighbors, you name it!
-Besides always going on bike rides, Grandpa would always be fixing up bikes or buying new ones to fix up.