Michael Parker
Justin Pitcher
6th Period
Grandfather
The moment that changed me as person in my life is when my grandfather passed
away. He was my superhero. If I could be like anyone, it would be him. Everyone who
knew him immediately liked him. He lived a short life, but a great one at that.
My grandfather’s name was John LaFata. He battled leukemia for 10 years. He
did not tell anyone that he had leukemia except his wife, my grandmother, Mary Beth
LaFata. He kept it a secret until it started to get bad. No one had any idea he had cancer
until it hit at that ten year mark. From there on out he started to go down hill quickly. I
don’t want to write this essay so you can feel bad for me; I am going to write this essay to
tell you what a great and honorable man he was.
My grandfather had two children. My mom, Mary Jo, and my uncle, John. I
know, traditional right? Both named after their parents, but that is what you do in Italian
families. You pass down name. Anyway, they grew up living in Chicago until my mom
was about 15. Then the moved out here to Sandy, Utah. My grandpa worked at Zerox and
was now going to start working here. He loved to fish and hunt in the outdoors. If you
needed a mans man to help you fix anything, he could do it. He was a great father.
During the time of his fathering, he went to war. He wasn’t the guy that went into the
fields and shot guns, he was the guy that fed those men. He was an army chef. That is
why his cooking was so great. It was also great because his mother and father were pure
blood Italians. I remember every time we would go over to his house for dinner, he would
cook so much food just in case anyone else wanted to come over. He said that he always
Michael Parker
Justin Pitcher
6th Period
cooked that much food because that is what he did in the army. Nothing like some
leftovers.
After my mom and dad got married, they had me right away. I was my grandpa’s
first grandson and what a great opportunity that was. I am so grateful that I was able to
spend as much time with him as possible. I am sad that my brother and sister did not get
to know him as much. I remember so many things that me and my grandpa would do. We
would go to the zoo and sneak in marshmallows. I didn’t know what the marsh mellows
were for, but I just remember that I was not allowed to tell anyone about them. As soon
as we would get to the elephant exhibit, I would know what they were for. As soon as the
zoo keepers would turn their backs, we would ignore the sign that said, “Please do not
feed the animals”, and we would share are mini marsh mellows with them. They sure did
like those marshmallows. After we would feed them for a while, we would always feed
ourselves with a big old thing of cotton candy. Every time I go to the zoo or eat mini
marshmallows, I think back on that great memory.
Another great memory about my grandpa is that we would always play cards. I
loved playing cards with him. We would play war for hours. We would never end up
finishing because one of us would always fall asleep. He would always just roll over and
fall asleep on the floor by the fireplace. Or he would tickle my back with his hard
working hands until I fell asleep. His hands were always so strong and worked because
he did everything with them. He finished out his entire 3000 square feet basement by
himself. He knew how to do it all.
Michael Parker
Justin Pitcher
6th Period
I have so many memories with him and will never forget him. I miss him more than
imaginable. I would do anything to go back and spend every second I could with him. He
was the greatest grandfather a grandson could ever imagine. I love him so much and will
never forget.