When I met Pop, I was playing college softball and he loved to talk with me about that. I quickly came to realize that he genuinely knew what he was talking about! We would of course talk about UL softball but we would also discuss the in’s and out’s of NCAA regulations and what he thought about them. That was so much fun for me!
I joined this family by way of Mommom and Pop’s grandson, Zach.
Zach lived pretty far away throughout the majority of our dating relationship so when his family would go out of town or on vacations, they would just grab me and take me with them!
Through those years, I was falling in love with Zach but was also getting to know and gaining an incredible family. We would go out in Lafayette and Pop would stop just about every waiter at just about every restaurant to tell them that his grandson was a United States Airman and that his name is Zachary and that I was his girlfriend and that we were going to get married some day.
Pop’s greatest joy was to highlight the achievements of those that he loved. He was really great at making others feel good about themselves.
Mommom and Pop started to come to my games whenever they could and it is forever a highlight of mine, when I got to see so many of my new families faces when we played at UL’s field. And the next time I came back to visit, Pop stopped just about every waiter at just about every restaurant to let them know the play by play of the games I played at UL.
My senior year didn’t go great but we managed to make it to the conference tournament at a school in Louisiana. I don’t think I let anyone know we were there because I had a feeling it was not going to go well.
I got a call while I was on the bus from the hotel to the field, from Zach’s Aunt Jill. ‘Haley, Tami let Mommom and Pop know where you were playing and I am driving them up there right now.’
I lost most of my grandparents who I completely adored, at a very young age. When I got that phone call, I remember sitting on that bus with a smile and tears just pouring down my face.
I looked at my best friend Anna and said ‘It feels like I have grandparents again.’ and she responded,
‘You do.’
We played a few games and ultimately lost, season over, career over.
That night, I went back to the hotel and everyone was in the lobby. I got myself together and went over to sit with Pop and he could tell I was upset. He grabbed me in a big hug in his chest and I just cried. What he said to me then, will stick with me forever.
‘Baby, I know this hurts now but you are about to start the most amazing life with our Zachary’
Pop, who could literally talk about sports for hours and hours reminded me that these things pale in comparison to what is really important.
He was a man who loved a lot of things but nothing more than his beloved.
And he made sure everyone knew it.
The next time we were all together before Zach and I got married, Mommom and Pop took the two of us out to dinner to encourage us and tell us stories about their marriage. Pop told Zach that he has never let a single day go by without telling Mommom that she is beautiful and Mommom told me how much she still loved his skinny basketball legs.
The last time that we saw Pop, he was tired and not feeling great but he kept calling the nurses in for one reason.
‘I need to get out of here so I can take my bride out to dinner’
Mommom said, ‘that’s okay Pop, we can celebrate right here.’
There are so many great things about Pop and the legacy he has left. The incredible things he did with the American Heart Association and the University of Louisiana will live on forever.
I will forever remember him as someone who was proud of his family and loved without condition. In a world of jealousy and comparison, he was a living example of what it meant to champion the ones that you love.
He made you feel good about just being you.
Today I know that Pop is exactly where he wants to be but it is fun to imagine him occasionally going to the thrown to say
‘I need to get out of here so I can take my bride out to dinner’
-Haley Gay
