Thank you to all our family and friends who joined us (whether in person or in spirit) to celebrate Robs life today. It was a beautiful day and we were so touched by all the love! I wanted to post my sisters eulogy because so many people asked us for a copy. It was AMAZING! *Everybody has a HERO. Someone who is strong, poised, brave & resilient in the face of fear. The term hero is synonymous with so many titles. Be it Dad, Husband, Son, Brother, Brother in law, Uncle, Cousin, Grandson, Army buddy, Lt. Colonel and Friend. Rob was every one of those and so much more. We will miss OUR hero for a billion and one reasons. Today you’ll hear countless stories of how Rob impacted so many lives. I’m going to shift my focus to the future. To my beautiful nieces & nephew and my sister, my confidante and a modern day HERO in my eyes. Trish, your amazing ability to pull it together in this time of great sorrow is not surprising to me. Sam you’ll be starting college and your Dad will be your Guardian Angel, which means he sees all…don’t forget that! Meg you’ll be celebrating your sweet 16th birthday in a matter of days, receiving your Confirmation this month and your gymnastics team is 1st place State Champions, WHAT an awesome fete. FOR those of you that know ANYTHING about gymnastics…apparently it’s your life. Nate, you’ll be turning 13 next month. Your baseball team recently won their first championship, AMAZING. And I know one little boy who has told anyone who will listen that his “cousin Nate is gonna go pro in skate boarding…he’s like better than Tony Hawk!” NATE, You now have a fan club of about 15 members, ages 3-10 in Palm Harbor, FL. We are all so incredibly proud of who you are all becoming. You obviously know all this but my point in bringing this up is so we, sitting here today, can celebrate your accomplishments WITH you. The beautiful thing is that you have ALL have the same DETERMINATION that drove your dad to be such a great leader, teacher and most importantly, a husband and father. Now, he wouldn’t want all of us to think he’s perfect. Most of you may not even know that he had a genius IQ. Rob’s imperfections included profusely sweating after eating hot salsa, napping with his eyes somewhat open and licking the fabric on his shirt because he KNEW that it raised the hair on my arms like nails down a chalkboard. The three of you, will have to navigate the future’s path without your Dad’s guidance; however, he has imparted in you morals, values and lessons that only a strong Father can, even if for only 18 years. He will be a constant in your ear like the wind, in your eyes like the brightest star in the sky and in your hearts, which over time will hurt less but never fully heal. He will be there to pick you up when you fall down, although you may not realize the strength that he has already instilled in you. And when you struggle to feel his presence, there WE will be, all of us, open arms ready to carry you the rest of the way. You will go far, you will succeed and proudly carry on the Kolpien name and traditions in honor of your HERO, just as he would want you to do. {And speaking of the Kolpien name, Jim and Nancy, thank you for raising such an amazing son! I feel privileged to be a part of your family. You always opened your door to us when Rob, Trish and the kids came to Naples, and with the limited amount of time that we got to see them each year, those visits meant the world to us.} We know Rob would want today to be about his family. He’d want us to lift them up and tell them “quit crying and get over it!” That’s the Rob we all knew and LOVE. Through that hard-core Army war vet, was a kitten. A gentle giant who won our hearts from the moment he walked through our front door. We’re fortunate enough that between Sam, Meg and Nate, they all carry a part of him that will be a daily reminder of all the wonderful things that Rob was. Luckily he sprinkled his intelligence to all three children. They have the intelligence to make responsible decisions, and that’s not something innate in this generation. Credit in part due to their mom of course. He was probably RELIEVED that we didn’t live closer because I was NOT the Aunt that was going to be able to help with homework, well, at least Math or Science, or History. One of the running jokes between us was about our ages. When I was 14, Rob was turning 28. Being 14 and apparently not that bright, I said “Wow, you’ll always be double my age then, right? From there on forward, every birthday, I’d remind him of his “real age” before he could tease me about it. So right now, Rob just turned 76. There are many stories I could tell, all involving making fun of me in some way. He was a master of sarcasm. At one point I told my sister that I felt guilty for going about my daily business, while they were suffering this immense loss. My sister said, “Life goes on Shannon.” Wow, that hit me hard, and my respect for her jumped up yet another notch. But more importantly, that is what Rob would want. He wants us to live. Living doesn’t mean forgetting or moving ON. Living means that you find the good in life each day, if even a little glimpse. There will always be those days, those weeks, those months and even years. But perhaps the message is that if we just take each day and try to find the positive in it; we may be able to move forward and be a little happier. Let’s truly honor Rob by LIVING.
Posted on: Sat, 17 May 2014 18:30:42 +0000
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