Theol at 100

My Grandpa Theol would have turned 100 today. Pastor. Chaplain. Son, brother, husband, father, grandfather. Avid player of rummy and chess.

Today—July 26, 2024—was a day he anticipated 20 years ago, when (four years before he died) he graced us with his own obituary, leaning into what can only be called Norwegian Lutheran humor, one of his unmistakable trademarks.

Growing up in Guatemala, I didn’t get as much time with my grandparents as I would have liked. But summers in Seattle, when they happened, were the dream. Especially trips on the Steilacoom ferry out to Anderson Island, to a modest plot of land where Grandpa had a trailer in the woods, in a clearing constantly in danger of being overwhelmed. More than once we would all be enlisted to hack away the vines blocking our path to the beach—or the outhouse.

Anderson Island was one of Grandpa’s favorite places. And because of him, it’s one of mine too. Today when I picture Grandpa, I see him standing at the railing of the Steilacoom ferry, sporting that navy blue windbreaker and those signature sunglasses, his hand on my shoulder as we make our way joyfully through the fog.