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Stafford County, Kansas | Three grandfathers here. 2 biological, and one that I grew up calling grandpa and didn't really realise he wasn't my biological grandfather till in middle school. The last one is the one who got my father started in farming and who I was closest too. Anyways, my mother's father retired and handed the farm over to my uncle 5 years back. He helped out a bit on the farm running errands and such but really after he retired he sat in the recliner, watched basketball and slowly went downhill. Last year, grandma lost her memory and now grandpa is doing more but there days are limited. He's 87.
My other biological grandpa is a jack of all trades. He quit farming in the 50's after the drought. After that he ran a feedmill till the late 80's and retired. He built a shop and did everything from woodworking to restoring mustangs. He's restored two tractors of dad's and rebuilt the engine out of an old gleaner combine just because he wanted too. He's 88 also and they still drive out to visit us from Illinois often. Keeping busy has treated him well.
My grandpa here at home died two falls ago. He was 86 and lived a long full life. His dad died when he was 18 and he took over the farm then. He was involved as long as his health let him. When he had to slow down he still fed cattle, was his favorite thing to do and that kept him going. After he couldn't do that he still partnered on cattle with dad and kept busy having money in the farm. He read the good book a lot late in life and drove around checking up on us. In his last days all he wanted to talk about was the farm. It was his identity.
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Hobbies for old farmers?
