Contributions to the tribute of Christopher Giedlin

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Monday, April 4, 2022

Brooke Giedlin- 4/4/2022 I am currently enrolled in a college course called, “Death, Loss, and Grief,” and my latest assignment is creating an obituary. I had to go through and read some obituaries in my local newspaper, and then I thought I would read my dad’s obituary. I have never read my dad’s obituary before this day, as I was only 11 when he passed and those types of things just did not interest me at the time. But today, I not only read the contents of his obituary but all the kind and heartfelt messages from the people who knew him. I was so moved that I decided to write this message today, and I’m not sure if anyone will ever come across it, but I wanted to write it anyway. It’s impossible for me to believe that it has been 8 years since he died. I was only in 6th grade at the time, and now I am a freshman in college. Just now am I realizing all the things he missed in my life. Never did he watch me play a varsity basketball game, nor did he see me walk across the stage at my high school graduation. He won’t be here to see me graduate from college, and I won’t have him to walk me down the aisle on my wedding day. Remembering him now and looking at all the beautiful messages people have written about him makes me miss him more than ever, and the fact that he only exists now in my memories is something I cannot even begin to describe. I truly treasure the memories I have with my dad. I don’t think about them all the time, but sometimes something will happen in my day to day activities and I can’t help but remember all the things he did. He would have a Mountain Dew and cinnamon flavored Pop Tarts every day for breakfast, and although that is not necessarily my go-to breakfast meal, I will always consider it a breakfast of champions. I had this book that listed all the 50 states, and it soon became a family event to try and name as many state capitals as we could. I still know them all to this day. One strong memory I have in particular is when I asked him if there were such a thing as dollar coins. That soon created a domino-effect that led to him showing me his already large coin collection, and then adding to that collection soon after I became interested. We collected every state quarter and U.S territory quarter and put them on a board, which was no easy feat. For my birthdays and other special events, he would gift me a presidential dollar coin. Our most common activity was going through pennies and determining which ones had more copper by their year, and most importantly, picking out all of the “wheat cents.” I still have my huge jar full of them, and I think of him everytime I see one. We loved going out and getting slushies at the Circle K in Carleton, and I remember we were so disappointed when Circle K changed the cup design. I loved going to Walmart with him, as I knew he would buy our favorite box of donuts- the Entenmann’s variety pack where I would basically only eat the chocolate ones. He would always surprise my sister and I with watermelon-flavored gum in our junk drawers, and I think he would be pleased to know that it is still my favorite gum. Whenever I watch a football game, I will always have him to thank for teaching me exactly how football works. He would treat some games like a math quiz, and ask me what the second down would be if in the first down, the wide receiver ran five yards with the ball. He made me enjoy watching football, and any sport he watched I eventually grew fond of (except for golf because I still find it painfully boring). We would always bond over certain TV shows like “Pawn Stars,” “Deadliest Catch,” and even “Dance Moms.” We both found the drama in that show to be very entertaining. We also watched the WWE together, and to this day I still can’t believe that he failed to tell me that it was fake. My dad would always listen to Katy Perry with me, and I used to think he did it because he was trying to relate to his daughter, but I think he just genuinely enjoyed it. The song “Hot and Cold” was our favorite. I will always remember my dad introducing me to some of my favorite films today like “Jaws” and “Jurassic Park,” although my mom didn’t really approve of those films at the time. Those movies are already iconic, but they are even more iconic to me because they were something my dad and I both highly enjoyed. My dad also enjoyed scaring me in his Ford Probe by driving with no hands on the steering wheel, and I am still unsure how he was able to keep control for as long as he did, because as a driver myself, I have found that it is immensely difficult to do so. All the memories I have of my dad are good, and even remembering the times where we would slam the computer keyboard on the desk because the internet was going slow makes me smile a bit. I think the thing that saddens me the most about my dad’s passing is how I will never truly get to know him like his brothers and friends knew him. I can only speak of his character in regards to how he was as a father. He was caring, smart, funny, and he always just wanted to teach me things and find more activities that we could bond over. I wish I could hear more of his experiences in the Navy. People say that he was someone to be respected, not just because of his rank, and I still find myself trying to become worthy of the same respect he got. People say that he had no bias when it came to conversing with other people, as it did not matter to him what you looked like or where you came from. If there was ever an opening to interact with different people, he would take it. There are so many other things that people say about my dad, and it makes me happy to know that he is remembered in a positive light. Again, I don’t know if anyone is going to see this but I think it is important to know that I still remember my dad in the best of ways, and he will always be my greatest influence in life. I am trying to live my life the best I can, and although I don’t have it all figured out yet, I hope I can become someone that reflects the kind of person that he was.

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Nancie Zimmerman Posted Apr 24, 2022 at 1:13 PM

❤️

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Marty giedlin Posted Apr 24, 2022 at 2:38 PM

Thanks Brooke…your note brought back a lot of memories for me as well. He would be proud of you and loving every minute watching you grow.

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Tom Giedlin Posted Apr 24, 2022 at 6:28 PM

Brooke, This is an awesome reflection of memories of your Dad. Chris and I had a great brother relationship what with competing in high school sports together and both of us attending and graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy. His red Trans Am was his first and favorite car, and we had some eventful travels in it! I miss those days and wish he was with us to reminisce. Thank you for making my day — Uncle Tom

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Beverly Buell Posted Feb 17, 2023 at 7:53 AM

What a touching tribute to your Dad. He would be so proud of the amazing young woman you are today.

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