Tribute to Pop Roen

Hi, this is Lynne again. I have been told I write too much but that is just the way I am so...sorry.
The day I was suppose to move into UMHB, my parents and I attended FBC, Belton. We had gotten to Belton the night before because it was a 5 hour drive and we were all excited about me going to college. Anyway, the first person we met upon walking in the door of FBC was this wonderful, grandfatherly man named Arnold Roen. He greeted us with enthusiasm and warmth. He also reminded me of my granddaddy back home. FBC had a program at the time where families in the church adopted college students so that the students would have a place they could call home away from home. Arnold Roen took one look at me and said that I was going to be his new daughter. I wasn't even sure if this was going to be my church home but that didn't matter to him. He went right then and signed me up as his adopted daughter. I thought "okay" and went on. That night after my parents left, the church had a social for all the college kids where they talked about the adoption program. It was then that I met Arnold's wonderful wife, Georgia. They immediately told me that they would pick me up on Saturday and I was to bring my laundry with me. (At that time we had to pay to wash and dry our laundry). I knew in just that short time, I had connected with two great people.
That first Saturday, they came to pick me up and upon arriving at their home, I was greeted by most of their family. We had lunch together and Georgia snuck off and washed and dried my clothes for me before I knew it. It was during this day that I came to refer to them as Mom and Pop Roen. Every Saturday I was at the college, they came and got me and my laundry and I would spend the day with them. Sometimes with their family, sometimes with their friends, but always with them.
Pop loved to garden and many times I would go outside and help him weed the vegetables or flowers while he shared stories of his past with me. I played with his granddaughters on occasion, and visited with his daughters. Mom taught me how to cook some very tasty dishes and they even helped me with homework. Their daughter graciously made my formal dress for the Miss UMHB pageant.
Mom and Pop made my years at UMHB bearable. They were my grandparents that I missed. My grandmother died during my freshman year and they were right there while I talked about it. They listened and gave advice that stayed with me even now.
Over the years since I graduated, I have sent a few cards and letters. I think about them all the time but there never seems to be time to stop and visit. Actually, the last time I think we visited them, my oldest son was maybe a year old. As we have driven through Belton over the years, I would think that it would be nice to stop and see how Mom and Pop were doing. But, we were either in a hurry or had an agenda that had to be done. This is what I call a "should have". It was a feeling that I should have acted on but didn't.
Today I took my oldest back to school because of car problems and as I was getting ready to leave Belton, I turned left instead of right. I drove out towards Temple trying to remember the name of a street. All the sudden the street name was right there and I had thought about Mom and Pop. I had this overwhelming urge to go see them right at that moment. So without hesitating I turned on to their street and amazingly drove right to their house. I was hoping they still lived there.
I knocked on the door and Mom opened it. She smiled and as tears ran down her cheeks she said, "I was just thinking about you." I asked how she was and she said, "I am doing better than I thought I would but I miss him so much." My heart broke. She then realized that I had not been told but Pop had died on April 5th. He had developed a heart condition 2 years prior and instead of having a life threatening surgery, he decided to live life to the fullest until Jesus called him home. She shared some things with me and we caught up on the family and then I left. I cried a good part of the way home because I had so many "should haves" going through my mind. Pop never knew that I had 3 boys, what they looked like, who they were becoming, and things that had happened in our lives. I had let "things" get in the way of keeping them updated. Mom Roen stated that there was no room for "should haves" because they were needless weights. She is right.
Pop Roen was 90 years old when he died and had lived a full and happy life, not only that he had been married to Mom Roen for 63 years. He had a lovely obituary written in the Temple paper. He was delightful, funny, interesting, knowledgable, wise, and a great man. He will be missed here on earth.