Growing up with my German last name has always been a conversation starter. I get asked weekly – no, daily – how to pronounce this nine-letter word (It’s Goot-neck, by the way).
As I’m writing this, I am sitting in the passenger seat of my car riding back home after the namesake of my family’s funeral.
If you wanted to see a strong man, you need not look any further than my Grandpa Gutknecht. A veteran, a retired plant manager for Pepsi-Cola Co. and a strong German beer-drinker, my grandpa was the absolute best.
This last name is a badge of honor because of my grandpa. I am honored to be able to share his story.
During the funeral, my dad shared some stories about his childhood and the early parts of my life. See, my grandparents lived on a lake in Indiana and every summer my sister and I would get stuck on a plane by ourselves, knowing very well my grandpa would be waiting on the other end to take us straight to the boat.
We would tube and play in the water all day long and a week later my parents would join us.
My dad shared a story that I didn’t even remember that will honestly stay with me forever.
Being the youngest child in the family, I was apparently pretty observant. I wanted to be just like the adults and would mimic a lot of what they did.
One night, when I was probably only 1 year old, we were getting ready for bed at the lake house and everybody was saying their “Goodnights” and “Sleep tights” when I turned to look at my grandpa. I wasn’t quite old enough or fluent in the English language yet to say the word “Grandpa,” so out came “Peace, Paw Paw” with my two little fingers up in the air.
The peace sign was something I had seen my grandpa do my entire life and there I was, even at an early age, wanting to be just like him.
I am grateful for the opportunity I had to spend time with family this week and share stories of my grandpa. It was one of the hardest and bests weeks of my life and it definitely made me even more proud to wear the Gutknecht name.
Peace, Paw Paw.
Jackie Gutknecht is the managing editor of The Covington News. She can be reached at jgutknecht@covnews.com or 770-728-14009. Twitter: @jackieg1991
