One Scouts Honour

Marshall Grotenhuis passed away last night surrounded by his family. His last breath was peaceful and he did not suffer.

He was the best grandfather a girl could ask for. He had a passion for life that all who knew him could see. He passed some of this on to me through many of his hobbies, most of which I still pratice today.

One of the biggiest memories with my grandfather (and grandmother) was our many camping trips as we were growing up. Letchworth was a favorite, they would often meet us there. I still enjoy camping and while I do not go all over the country like my grandfather with his young family, I still enjoy a great camping trip.

The camping was often coupled with hikes in the woods. Being the boyscout that he was he could inentify plants and such for his curious grandchildren. Sometimes he would point out plants to us if we had not noticed them yet. Hiking is still a big part of my life. Luckily it can be done almost anywhere, Even NJ has many state parks with hiking trails. Stonybrook, another park we frequented growing up, Had waterfalls to be splashed in and few nice trails to choose from. Until I moved out of Rochester I would drive down for the afternoon just for the hike.

I never realized that my love of photography may have come from him. That is untill my grandparents went through all of the slides the took over the years. It all makes sence now. I knew he took photo's but did not realise that he actually developed his own film (before I was born). It is something else to develop your own photo's (though it may have been out of necessity for him). With digital (that he did not get as much into) prints are not as often and slides are likely printed even less. I will miss the old fashoned slide projectors (untill they get stuck anyway.

Grandpa took his scouting seriously. You couldn't walk through his garden with out getting a badge (seriously, he planted part of his garden so his scouts could earn a badge). His honor lies with in each of his family members and those who knew him.