A Great Tribute by Brian Head

Today’s blog post brought to you by Brian Head.

Left to right J Dennis Hoffman, Larry Chalmers, myself (thinner and a lot younger) and Grady during his wooly beard phase (never knew how he could stand to dive with that). Cozumel April 2009

A Tribute

I have been watching as folks have mourned Grady Weston. I knew I wanted to say something but it took me a minute to process and figure out what to say. For those of you that don’t know him you probably won’t understand this post but for those of you that know Grady, you will know… Grady is a tough nut to crack. At one moment tough and unyielding and the next taking the shirt from his back to help someone he barely knew. I first got to know Grady and Deb in 2006 on a dive trip to Belize. This was my first trip and yes there are stories. That trip cemented a friendship that endured. It’s been repeated over and over but it’s not only true but remarkable, “once you were a friend you were family”. I came away from that trip knowing exactly who I wanted to dive with and spend my vacations with.

Grady lived for service. I have heard it said that he lived with a servant’s heart and friends, no truer words have ever been spoken. I won’t recount the organizations that Grady and his family support but I will say he spent countless hours in support of these organizations. I am guessing there are thousands of children in Newton county that wouldn’t have had Christmas without the dogged determination of Grady and his band of volunteers. So the servant’s heart is accurate but doesn’t really reflect the scope of his giving life.

Grady’s greatest gift to all of us was this servant’s heart. When you went on a dive trip you were always expected to help the new divers, to help load and unload tanks from the boat, and generally help anyone who needed it whether it was a gear problem or just a piece of advice. This is Grady in his everyday life and ultimately his greatest gift to all who know him. His example always made you want to jump in and help and to be a little better person in that moment than maybe you were before. This legacy will continue. Together, Grady and Deb have instilled the life of service in their sons and grandchildren. This is a gift to the entire community.

We morn you Grady. We will miss your orneriness and your energy. A dive trip, a trip to the lake or a quick stop in the dive shop will never be the same but you can restfully confident that your example of a life of service will live on in your family, your friends and your divers.

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