Sir John

When my Mother was pregnant with my second brother she went to my grandfather and said, "Sir, they say it's a boy.  What shall I name him?"  At least according to the version of the story that she tells he replied with a smile and said, "Name him John."  Apparently a few of my aunts had the same idea.  Consequently I grew up in a family either blessed or plagued with "Johns".  I have a brother named John-Paul, cousins named Jonathan, Jonah, and Joseph, and they are all named after my Grandfather, John.  True, most of them aren't perfect "Johns" but that's because my aunts and mother are all trying to cleverly name their sons after Pop without actually taking "the name" we hope to reserve for my Uncle Johnny to someday use if he should ever have a son.  Either way, between all the boys named John and all the men named John and them all coming from Pop who can also be known as John, you might understand why many of us took to just calling him "Sir." 
Now that I've explained the name allow me to speak on the topic of the man and perhaps I may explain why his daughters think so very highly of him.  My Grandfather, fondly known as Pop, respectfully known as Sir, was born in New York (gratefully he does not speak with any accent) to Irish immigrants.  As a young man he attended the California Institute for Technology, the only real challenge to MIT, and then was a paratrooper in the Army.  He wrapped his motorcycle and himself around a tree and consequently has a great deal of metal in his leg.  At the age of 21 he stopped smoking (which he claims is the best thing he ever did for himself) and promised never to drink hard liquor again- beer and wine do not count.  He married his high school girlfriend and had four children.  After she died he married my grandmother (who had four children at the time) and together they had two more children, equating to the amazing number of ten children.  In his spare time he worked on the Apollo missions, building the rockets.  At every wedding he makes the same toast, "May all your problems be little ones." 
When his first grandchild was born he said he was too young to be "Grandpa" and declined the title.  Instead he adopted the name of "Pop."
He has battled cancer three times (and won all of them) and had numerous diseases where he was told that he would not make it.  Some of his less cautious female progeny question whether Oscar Wilde based The Picture of Dorian Gray upon him.  All of his stories are entertaining but most of them I have to question the reliability of the source.  HHe is an excelent cook and his taste is second to none.  Among his favorite songs are such titles as The Battle Hymn of the Republic, Oh Danny Boy, and The War Requiem.  When he walks into a room everyone turns and listens to him.  His presence demands respect.  He is one of the most demanding and generous men I have ever known and he always answers his wife with "Yes dear." 
Since he retired he likes to cook, spoil his children and grandchildren, embarass his granddaughters, and globe trot. 
I'm writing this largely because he just visited with my grandmother.  Perhaps this description will explain why  for the longest time I thought that my grandfather and John Wayne were one in the same.  It made perfect sense- they're both first generation Irish men.  They both can scare the living daylights out of you.  They both have a sort of classic cowboy image.  They both have really great one liners.  Everyone is drawn to their presence.  And most importantly in every shot they are always the hero.  He has been informed by three generations of his descendants that he is not allowed to die , but being the stubborn man that he is, he refuses. 
Pop says that of all his accomplishments (and he has a great many) he is most proud of his children and his grandchildren.  He says that Nana prays for a just God because she deserves heaven.  Pop says he prays for a merciful God because he knows what he's done wrong in this life.  He says that in this life we are all stewards and that all the gifts we have come from God.  At days end we will be asked what we did with our gifts.  I've never asked him but he doesn't appear to be worried.  Looking at the family that he created (32 grandchildren, 10 children, and nine children-in-law) I wouldn't be either.