Page created by: The Puckett Family

This is the tribute our daughter gave at Gregg's memorial service.
My Dad
Friendships were important to my Dad. He took an interest in good people and loved mine and my brothers friends too. Heck, Petah was his second daughter. Everyone was welcome in our house, especially if you laughed at Dad’s jokes, good or bad.
My Dad was born and raised in Bartlesville Oklahoma with his mother and father and his sister Prynn. My grandfather used to tell us ridiculous stories of my dad when he was a kid. He unscrewed chairs, blew things up, and show up at home covered in soot.
Its hard to know where to start. There are so many memories of dinners and bedtimes and countless camping trips So many ridiculous stories and so so much laughter.
I asked my family what they wanted me to say, and of course it was hard to think of just one thing. My uncle remembers a story of him, my dad and my brother Kevin frying a turkey for the first time and the levers and pulleys that ended up as part of that science project. Kevin remembers getting horribly lost on the way to a campsite. My dad was a mess but Kevin had a great time because he got to drive the truck down a crazy hill in Mexico. Kevin and dad were always taking something apart or building some sort of technology. They made a full sized Tesla coil just for fun. As a grandfather he was Papi and even with parkinson’s could make the kids laugh. He taught Brody how to eat popcorn with his tongue. He used to make faces at Pj to make him laugh.
He was always learning and loved everything from culture to words to science to photography. I have a very vivid memory of sitting in our living room when I was about 6 and my dad teaching me about magnets and polarity. I spent many an hour drilling holes in his tool bench or taking things apart with a screwdriver. Kevin was better at putting things back together. I remember coming home from school one day and him showing me a word and saying with childish excitement “what do you think that says?” The word looked to me like “yar mu kle” He says “that’s how you spell yamaka. Pretty cool huh?” Living in Massachussets he would have me say different cities names and laugh at the ridiculous pronunciations. The two of us used to speak to each other in an English accent and he loved it when I picked up an Aussie accent when I was there for a year.
I adored my father. I couldn’t call him anything but Daddy. Don’t get me wrong puberty was tough and he rarely understood why I was crying. I even got into arguments with him about his tone that frustrated him to no end. But I loved him. I always wanted him to tickle me at bedtime when I was little and he would whisper Sara, Sara, Sara I love you in my ear every night when I was home, even into college.
He was an affectionate father and a really good hugger. Upset if it took me too long to hug him when I came home. My brother and I never doubted his love or that he was proud of us. As I was writing this I just kept realizing more and more how much he loved me and really that he pretty much thought we were awesome. He fostered our interests and our talents even when we weren’t sure of them. Kevin understood cars and tools and physics. My dad liked discussing programming and computers with my brother. He always told me to sing loudly if I ever sang and he listened and shared information about animals and nature. And even though he loved us with all of his heart there is no one in the world he loved more than my mother. Dedicated to her until his last breath. My fathers vitals jumped when my mother kissed him before he died. . . twice. The two of them met through church when they were 16 and were married when they were 20. This January 2nd would have been their 45th wedding anniversary. They lived in three different states, had two children and four grandchildren. Apparently my mom noticed my father at a church function because he could wiggle his ears and he was funny. (my brother can wiggle his ears but apparently thats a gene I didn’t get)My mom says she flirted with him until he finally asked her out. My father loved to make my mother giggle. They were together for so long there wasn’t a story from their past that they didn’t share. When my father fell into his dementia and parkinson’s, he still wanted to be a part of conversations which was difficult. But he could say one or two words and my mom could fill in the rest of the story.
My mother always said “he makes me laugh” in a voice like Jessica Rabbit.
He could always make us laugh. My dad was funny. Often Kevin and I were laughing at the dinner table because he said “shit” while Mom just said “Greg!” trying not to laugh herself.
He taught Kevin and me dirty jokes and I couldn’t leave for college until I could say George Carlin’s 7 words you can’t say on the radio in perfect form (totally inappropriate for church so ask me later and I’ll do it) He loved a good story and he lived vicariously through Kevin and my ridiculous exploits. Sometimes when we were in college, he would call us at 9am on a Saturday to see if we were hung over. A lot of our friends have remembered him for his humor.
My father loved science and taught my brother and I to love it as well. I am someone who believes that science and religion are not mutually exclusive. I think God is a scientist. Neil Degrass Tyson has said
Not only are we in the Universe the Universe is in us. I don’t know of any deeper spiritual feeling than what that brings upon me.

Daddy I will think of you when I look at the stars. I will be curious and read and write and sing loudly(even though I might not be great at it). I will remember you when my children laugh and know you are with me. I will be filled with wonder at the beauty of nature and the magic of machines. Daddy I will be inspired by your love and fill my life with family, friendship and curse words. I will try to see myself through your eyes and know I am awesome. This is what you have left me. What you have taught me. Daddy, Kevin and I will be your legacy and we will keep your memory alive. And we will always laugh. And we will always hug. And we will always, always love you.

Sara Jett Puckett O'Connor

Gregg has a sister, brother-in-law and father-in-law with Parkinson's Disease. We don't want our children and grandchildren to have to suffer from this disease. Please donate.