My grandfather passed away today.

Dear Patrons, tonight there will be an update but first I want to tell you the reason for my absence this week. 

My grandfather, a widower exactly three months ago ( I told you my grandmother died on March 18th) had fallen last week and broke his leg and had a successful operation. They had put a prosthesis in his leg. 

He was strong. 

But in the hospital bed he fell into great depression, he refused food because he felt full, he was tired, sad, on Thursday he cried when I went to see him, saying " I'm crying like a kid!" but smiling, he was embarassed. 

I promised to take him to eat pizza when he left the hospital, he would have turned 98 in August. Thursday told me "thank you!" and "best wishes" ... and I answered him "best wishes to you!"

He passed away this morning.

I know  that he was sad and that his wife missed him, and I think he let himself die... 

He had to go to rehab when he was discharged, I saw him with my own eyes last Thursday, he didn't seem to die , but he was tired and sad.

And I want to tell you this, with tears in my eyes, my grandfather was the best man of my life, my hero, he was with me better than my father. I was always with him as a child, always. He conveyed to me the desire to draw because he was a craftsman, he built the interiors of houses, and he painted creating effects, he put wallpaper, he built windows, and he also had the task of decorating walls and ceilings, of elegant old houses in Rome , a typical Italian job.

He painted my house 10 years ago, my bedroom is lilac and another room is light blue, he painted my house at the age of 88 years.
I am so proud to have had such an extraordinary grandfather who loved me for 42 years and always told me smiling "Grazie bella!" when I was the one to thank him for educating me and for teaching me everything. When I was born my father was not very happy to have a daughter, he wanted a boy ( narrow minded man), for my grandfather I was a special girl!

And he was proud of my work as comic artist. He was proud that I worked with the Americans because he had fought in a platoon of Americans during World War II. He was the cook, and the Americans played cards with him and he told me he always won! And he told me: " Americans saved us, I met them, they treated me very well, I'm glad you work for the Americans! Brava!" He loved to see American movies, especially western movies, he was a great admirer of John Wayne.

My grandfather was the relative I loved most of all , and I was his favorite niece, I know, I was the first, and he the only grandfather for me ( never met my second grandfather, he's died before I was born) our bond was special. 

I told him that I had left Ronald and that I now worked alone with a site, he understood, he was intelligent. So he would be proud of Patreon too. He was excited about everything I did, since I was drawing as a child!  I lost my biggest supporter.

My grandfather is called Edmondo De Cesaris, a Roman descendant of the Caesars, Roman for 7 generations, called "baffetto" because of his nice mustache ( Errol Flynn style) which he proudly kept tidy up to the end. My grandfather had personality, he was intelligent, cheerful, positive. 

Sorry but I wanted to talk about him today, I need it, it is also for him.  
Because in Italy during the funeral the relatives do not give the eulogy. It is not used in our country, it is only the priest who speaks but knows nothing about the deceased and his speech is generic, the same for everyone, during the service. 

But I wanted to eulogize him somewhere. I chose Patreon because he asked me "how is work going on with comics on the internet?" And I: "Very well!" he always asked me, I swear. He was very smart and clever.

He will always be in my thoughts while reaching my dreams.  I'm crying like a child now.

Ciao nonno.

V.