Daily HoraceScoop: Happy 100th Birthday to the Original Horace Hallenberger

Horace Ronald Hallenberger - Aug 22, 1914 - Jan 15, 2002

This week I honor one of the greatest men I ever knew. My Grandpa, Horace R. Hallenberger. Born Aug 22, 1914. Next Friday would mark his 100th birthday. Grandpa was a very rare individual. Why was he so rare? Because in over 87 years of his life he never made an enemy. I was 32 years old when he passed away. In those 32 years and in the 13 years since I have talked to many people old and young who knew my Grandpa and each of them had the same thoughts of him, he was one of most kind people knew. Never even heard of him arguing or raising his voice at another. For me, Grandpa was more than a great man. I was born during the Vietnam war and my father was deployed with the Navy at the time.

Because he was not around for the first 6 months or so of my life, my Grandpa was given the responsibility to give me my name and blessing. The greatest honor I could have ever have received from him was to be given his name. He blessed me by the authority of the priesthood he held and promised me great things in my life.

Horace, Horace II and Horace III

I have tried to live my life in a way that would make my Grandpa proud. I hope that I can emulate the kindness he showed to each and every person I meet. I also tried to honor him further by naming my own son after him as well. A year and half before his death he stood in the circle as I gave my son a name and a blessing. It was a tender experience that I will never forget.

Growing up I spent lots of time with my Grandpa. He and my dad taught me how to fish. Grandpa showed me how to make whistles out of a willow tree limb. He taught me how to play different marble games and to shoot the marble with my thumb. He even taught me how to treat a lady.
Grandma was his most important person in his life. He treated her like a queen. He took care of her in every aspect of the word.

Grandpa's sweetheart, my Grandma

Grandpa was full of stories. My favorite was of him playing semi pro baseball in Missouri. His team

Leroy "Satchel" Paige

challenged a team from the Negro leagues, the Kansas City Monarchs, who had traveled into town for a game. The Monarch's opponent had not shown up and Grandpa's team was practicing on the field. The Monarch's decided they could use a tune-up game and accepted the challenge. Grandpa said it was not much of a challenge for them because out to the pitcher's mound strolled a tall fellow they called "Satchel". Grandpa was familiar with the name as was the rest of his team. Everyone inside the Negro Leagues and outside the leagues knew who Satchel Paige was. Many said he was the best pitcher in baseball, regardless of race. Grandpa described his 3 at bats the same. He stood in the batter's box and listened to 3 pitches smack into the catcher's mitt. Grandpa barely saw the ball and he walked back to the dugout. Satchel showed great sportsmanship and later started lobbing some balls across the plate so that Grandpa's team could put some balls into play. Grandpa would tell us he never saw another man who could throw a baseball like Satchel.

Grandpa also taught me the importance of having a sense of humor. The last 15 years of his life were in and out of hospitals. Kidney failure, quadruple bypass surgery and other ailments. Grandpa never showed the pain he was in. In fact he would often find ways to make the family laugh. Once while lying on his hospital bed just a day after his quadruple bypass, he was describing the procedure to some of us in the room. I asked him how his legs felt after they removed some of the veins to use around his heart. He said they didn’t do anything with his legs, just his heart. The nurse in the room told him that they had actually surgically removed the veins from his legs and pulled the blanket up over his feet and up to his knees. Grandpa looked down and saw the bandages around his lower legs. He looked up and exclaimed, “Well it shows you what I know, guess I should be more observant!” We all laughed hard.

We loved hearing Grandpa laugh too. My favorite was when he was watching the Road Runner and Wile E Coyote show. Grandpa would laugh so hard he couldn't breathe. His laugh would become a raspy squeeky sound and his face would turn red. His laugh was so infectious that we would all be laughing at him laughing.

Grandpa was a master mechanic. Spent his career as the head mechanic for Garret Freight Lines in Idaho. He was so good at it that if you drove your car onto his driveway, he could tell you any problems your engine had. He could just hear it. This helped him take care of many of his cars for years longer than the normal vehicle lifespan. When I was first married, Grandpa sold me his 1972 Plymouth Fury. It had 305,000 miles on the original motor! He gave me the keys and told me it would go another 12-15,000 miles for me. I drove it 12,350 miles when I heard a bang under the hood. The motor stopped and I coasted down I-184 heading into downtown Boise. I came to a stop and shook my head and smiled. I walked away from the car knowing that there would be no fixing it this time. Grandpa knew the car like the back of his hand and it was time to let it die.

When we were finally notified that Grandpa was nearing the final days of his life, the family gathered at the hospital to be with him. There was little the doctors could do for him other than keep the pain down so he would be comfortable. I was given the honor by my dad and my Uncle Ron and Aunt Lela to give my Grandpa a final blessing so that he could rest comfortably and finish his earthly journey quickly and knowing of the love of his family on earth. It was one of the most special moments of my life as I reflected on the contrasting experiences of him blessing me as I entered this life and me blessing him as he was leaving his. I cried as I told him how much I loved him and how much all of his family loved and adored him. I remember feeling calm and peaceful as I told him that he had done all he could do in this life and that it was time for him to be with his Father in Heaven again.

Grandpa and Grandma

After his final blessing he gave me a hug and then said to everyone there that he loved each of them so much. It was so sweet as he took his sweetheart into his arms and the kissed one last time. I will never forget the love he shared and showed in his eyes. Within moments he closed his eyes and fell into a coma and soon after took his final breath.

Grandpa, I hope you know how much I love you. I still want to be just like you. Thank you for being the man you were and for allowing me to share your name. People have made fun of my name most of my life and I have never cared because I know it is a name that only you, me and now my son share. There is no other name I would want. Next week on Aug. 22nd I will celebrate your life. I will remember all the things that we did together. I am sure that I will cry as I still miss you so much. But I will also smile as I think of you and Grandma together in Heaven waiting for me to be with you again.

Happy 100th Birthday Grandpa! May the rivers of heaven be filled with fish for you today!
Love, your grandson, Horace Ronald Hallenberger II