People of History: Pappy Owen
There are times when you cannot write anything else until the words on your heart are let go. My Monday posts are about people of history. Typically, I find someone who influenced me and the world through their books, their speaking or their courage, and write a short piece to honor them. I like to highlight the people who are not well known and share them with a broader audience. Today is slightly different in that I am sharing a family member with you.
The picture above is Grandpa, Nanna, my dad, and two of my aunts. My grandfather Owen Sipe is someone I never met. He died in a motorcycle accident when my dad was 17. There are not many pictures or recordings of my grandfather, and the few that we have are priceless possessions.
I can still remember the day when my dad told me of grandpa's death. My dad was working at Howard Johnson's at the time, and cooking burgers for the lunch rush. When his boss told him his dad passed away my dad nearly fell onto the stove in tears. My dad broke down in tears 26 years later as he recalled the story to me. I can count on one hand the number of times I have heard of or seen my dad crying.
Doing What It Takes
Grandpa Owen and my Nanna were missionaries to the Navajo Indians in New Mexico for nearly ten years. The stories my Nanna shares of their time there still amaze our family to this day. One of the scarier ones is when a wolf-like man raced beside their van at 40 miles per hour.
Grandpa always did whatever it took to care for people and provide for his family. When their missionary work in New Mexico was done, Grandpa started working as a truck driver and would leave the family for weeks at a time. My dad would ride with his dad over the summer before his summer jobs kicked in.
The long nights and time away from his family started to catch up with Grandpa Owen. He missed the day to day work beside his bride and three children. Thankfully, a man approached him about starting a wholesale business together and Grandpa put all his stamina into building something that would buy back his time.
It took only 3 years for Grandpa to build a passive income that is equal to $300,000 a year today. He could not have been happier and most of all, his wife had a stable income if something ever happened to him.
One of the few items we have is a recording of the last business meeting my Grandpa did. Ironically, he mentions at the end of the meeting that he built a business so that if he ever passed away suddenly, my Nanna would be cared for. He specifically built a passive income so that his income would not die if he did. My Grandfather died a few days later.
Leaving a Legacy
The foundations of a stable business were established. My Nanna went on to double the business over the next 2 years and our family has never wanted for money ever since. One of the dreams of my Grandpa was to build his business to the level that my Nanna carried it to.
I do not pretend to idolize my Grandpa, though this post may seem to do so. He was a hot head, and my dad inherited some of those characteristics. One of the things I had to learn as I grew up was to hear the good things about Grandpa and weed through the issues I saw manifesting through my dad. My middle name is Owen after my Grandpa. There are a number of dreams my dad gave up when his dad died in order to help my Nanna and the family as a firstborn. Some of those regrets of not living his own dreams passed onto me as his firstborn.
The fact that my middle name is my Grandpa's name has always been a sense of blessing to me. A constant saying in our family is that those who have been given much, much will be expected of them. That never fell upon my deaf ears.
Finding Your Fire
It is understood that we are to learn from our ancestors and find our name. One of my favorite movie moments is the scene in Gladiator where Maximus confronts the man who ordered the killing of his family. Maximus Decimus Meridius knew his name. Though you might disagree with his focus on vengeance, the point of that movie is a man finding his way home. Maximus did not want to save Rome or dethrone the Emperor, he wanted to see his family again.
The sense of purpose in our hearts does not happen until we know our roots and build better fruit from them. The story of Maximus resonates with me because my name came from a movie about a gladiator. To top it off, Lydon the gladiator rescues his blind girlfriend as the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius freezes Pompeii in time. There was little hope I would not be a romantic with this backstory to my name.
This post is not here to glorify my Grandpa or shed light on the cool origins of my name. I write these words to encourage you to know your history and grow from it. Your beginning does not equal your end. I placed way too much pressure on myself as I grew up to not screw up my heritage. That was not necessary. We ought to learn from our past but never live in such a way to preserve it - that only ensures that we repeat it.
me for more great content.