01/02/2026
✨💙To have to write something like this once again feels unfair. Life is so precious, and this year we have lost far too many of our people.
Papa Vroom Vroom, my father-in-law today was meant to be a celebration of you, gathered around a good meal like we did every year for your birthday. Food was always at the heart of it for us, and instead we now hold the memories with tender hearts.
Thank you for the many years of conversations, long before I ever became your daughter-in-law. You were always open, always listening, with the biggest heart and a quiet, steady love. I will forever treasure the little things that meant so much: my favorite green tea, chocolate-covered fruit candies, rib tips, split pea soup, and the way food always brought us together.
One of my favorite memories we shared will always be my first NASCAR race hot passes and watching you and your son completely in your element, doing what you both loved, surrounded by fast cars and speed. Pure joy, a moment I will carry forever. I also cherish the time we brought you & my mom to see Jimmy Buffett and spent the evening just jamming out together with our parents at a parrot 🦜 fest
My heart breaks for our family, especially your son and our children who absolutely adored you. Seeing Claire Bear and Cole squealing with excitement as you walked through the door was pure magic. Papa Vroom Vroom will live on through stories, laughter, and legacy, and I promise they will always know the incredible man you were.
Thank you for giving me my best friend the most amazing husband and father to my babies. I am forever grateful.
I’ll miss our spirit talks and your curiosity about the other side. I know those conversations will continue, just in a different way now. Please keep watching over us all. Knowing you are at peace, surrounded by light, is what helps us move forward.
Happy Birthday in heaven, Papa. We love you so much today and always. 🩵
Rest easy.