Shawn's Story: Dancin' shoes for G-Pa

Today I took my 92 year-old G-pa to the mall to find some dancin' shoes. We started off with lunch at the Olive Garden. G-pa put down; salad, 2 breadsticks, 1 glass of merlot, spinach artichoke dip, lasagna, and he still had room for dessert so we had tiramisu. G-pa was impressed with the cleanliness and the solid construction of the building as well. Back when G-ma was still alive, we used to eat at the Royal Fork which was torn down to make way for the Olive Garden. It was time for the Fork to go, it had been there too long and was gettin' a bit skanky.

I loved that place when I was a kid because the end of the buffet always had plenty of chocolate cake and I was allowed to go back to the soft serve ice cream dispenser for more choco/vanilla twist as many times as i wanted. Good memories of summers with G-ma and G-pa. Anyhooo, back to the present, which is now already the past, but was once the future...hmmm

So, apparently, the proper shoes for dancing need to be lightweight, and have a slick sole so you can glide your feet along. G-pa likes to remind me that what the young people call dancing today, "standing there looking at each other, wiggling around and making funny faces," is nothing close to how he and G-ma used to dance. They met at a dance at the Hollywood Paladium back in the early forties, just before WWII. The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra was playing and Frank Sinatra was singing with his Pied Pipers (his backup singers before he got big).

G-pa worked for the McDonnel Douglas aircraft company and G-ma worked for a bank. They used to run around LA all night long dancing and playing "goofy golf" until morning when they would go back and have ice cream with chocolate syrup and black walnuts on it until it was time for church. They were married for nearly sixty years and spent lots of time dancing from what I have gathered. According to G-pa, dances were held weekly in most of the little towns and cities around here back before we all got hooked on TVs and computers, oh and the roads to Rapid were all gravel too.

What was i talking about? Oh yeah, dancin' shoes. So, none at JCPennys, (G-pa says there used to be one in every town), none at Scheel's, none at Sears (G-pa used to take the catalog to the outhouse to look at the ladies undergarments), finally, we found some suitable dancin' shoes at Famous Footwear. $95 dollar Rockports on sale for $70. G-pa tried the shoes on and did a little shufflin' and dancin' for the sales ladies...he rocks...I hope I am doing as well at 92.

He told me that last night, he turned on the sattelite radio on his TV and danced around by himself in his socks, this is incredibly sad and encouraging at the same time. G-pa has just recently been able to get excited about dancing again since G-ma died. It has to suck to be married to, devoted to, and totally in love with someone for 60 years and then end up alone again for the last years of your life. I hope that my presence here in SoDak makes it easier for G-pa, but I can't be there all day every day and I know he is quite lonely. The priest at his church also plays the accordian in a polka band that plays at casinos up in D-wood. We have taken G-pa up there a few times now, and the last two times he has found ladies there to dance with. He felt guilty the first time he danced with another lady, but he has come to the realization that G-ma would be cool with it, so he has decided to "get back in shape so (he) can keep up when the polka band plays again in April".

So where is all of this rambling going? I'm not sure, I guess I just want to start getting this stuff down before I start to forget it. G-ma has been gone for three years but I can still hear her singing in the kitchen and I can hear her voice calling my name in my head. I am starting to lose the memory of what it felt like to hug her, but every time I smell sunflowers, I remember her perfume. I am grateful for the summers I spent with them in Newell, and I am glad I decided to move back here six years ago to spend time with them. I hope everybody has the opportunity to get to know their Grandparents. Spend as much time with them as you can, and if you can't be there, at least call them once a week. It doesn't take much to brighten their day, it's the least you can do. You wouldn't be here reading my rambling if it weren't for them.

If your Grandparents are already gone, write down everything you can remember, even the little stuff, do it for yourself and do it for future generations. The world has changed A LOT during my G-pa's life. He has a perspective on the world that not many people alive today can have. Most of what we worry about is just silly shit in the end. Don't take things so seriously and don't be afraid to be a 92 year-old man dancing by yourself in your socks to polka music at 10 o'clock pm while you wait for your nightly call from your grandson. Later, FUNK

March 30, 1975 - September 11, 2008

Shawn P. Funk, 33, son of Ron and Briana Funk, continued on to his next journey, Thursday, September 11, 2008 as a result of an automobile accident.
Shawn was born Easter Sunday, March 30, 1975 in Spearfish, SD. He graduated from Chatfield High School in Littleton, CO. He furthered his education at Doane College in Nebraska, CSU in Fort Collins, CO and Black Hills State University in Spearfish, SD. Shawn graduated with several degrees.

Shawn moved back to South Dakota to be closer to his family and to be with his parents and grandparents who were very special to him. He enjoyed spending time with them taking them to the symphony, the playhouse, and showing them all the great things life had to offer. His favorites were taking Grandpa out to Newell Lake at 1 a.m. in the morning to watch a meteor shower or teaching his Dad to throw pottery. He opened up a whole new world for them.

Shawn had a profound love of art and music. He shared this love with hundreds of students of all ages. He taught at Lead-Deadwood Middle School, Black Hills State, and at his own shop in Spearfish. He also taught ukulele lessons at the Sturgis Art Center. Every student Shawn taught had their own special place in his heart.

He was a Master Potter and his work can be found from the Black Hills to the Rockies and beyond.

As a musician, he was a multi-instrumentalist. He was a drummer with the Violent Hippies and also an accomplished player of string instruments. He loved playing his ukulele and singing for his friends at Ugly Mug Night at the Chop House and at Crow Peak Brewery where you could also find everyone drinking out of his pottery mugs.

Shawn was a true teacher of everything to everyone. He will be remembered for his kind and gentle heart. He lived life in his own way and at his own speed, always enjoying the journey for that day. He has shown countless family and friends what lifeÕs journey should be. We will miss you Shawn.

Shawn is survived by his parents, Ron and Briana Funk, Newell; his three special dogs, Aster, Apollo and Aurora; Grandpa Jim Gibb, stepsister, Brandi Black and family and stepbrother, Joshua Funk and family; also numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins who will all miss him deeply.

He was preceded in death by his beloved grandparents, Howard and Constance Wilson and his cousins Jeremiah and Jennifer Wilson.

A memorial has been established. Please visit http://kinkadefunerals.com/index.php for more information.