We Remember

Today is Phil's dad's birthday. Wayne McGrath passed away a little over three years ago, but we still think of him often and feel grateful for his influence and testimony.

We didn't see him as much as the other kids just because we lived so far away. We always loved it when he came to visit, tho. The children loved playing with him and going out for that memorable trip to the Dollar Store - Wow! They were given a whole $5 dollars to spend however they wanted. Such fun!

I still hear his chuckle in my head sometimes. He had a wonderful sense of humor and was a very gifted speaker. You were never bored listening to him talk. He loved to have his family gathered around him while he told his great stories.

Each Christmas Eve he would retell "The Night Before Christmas". He always did it by memory and every year was different. Some years were shorter than others, and each year usually had the adults rolling in laughter by the time he was finished.

He had a great testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The most time we ever spent with him was when he was the Mission President of the St. Louis Mission. We lived only three hours away and was able to visit often. He would often share with us his experiences in the mission field and bare his testimony of Jesus Christ and how wonderful and simple the gospel was. Be obedient and endure to the end - it was that simple.

We still sing the songs he used to sing - Froggy Went-A Courtin' and "The Squirrel Song" (does that song even have a proper title??). Ethan wants to hear them every night before he goes to sleep.

He was a creative inventor. I have never seen simple projects become so complicated. Phil has picked up that gene somehow, he is his dad through and through with that trait.

He was a great husband, dad, grandad, mentor, teacher, coach, and disciple of Christ. His children and grandchildren have a great legacy and name that they can be proud of and carry with honor.


Always doing anything and everything with the grandkids (this is Megan at 11 months).

Taking time to wrestle with Logan while serving a mission in St. Louis.
He overcame a lot of adversity and trials growing up. He was successful in everything he did.
This is a picture with Bryan when he was about 3 years old.
Picture with his wife, Barbara, when they let for their mission.
He was a great basketball player, tennis champ, and coach.