Grandma Henke

When I say my dad, Lewis Allsop,  was the salt of the earth I am not exaggerating.    He had the biggest, non-judgmental heart of anyone I know.     The above picture was taken the summer before he died, when he was 79 years old.  Here is just one story about how he befriended a man and changed his life.

When Dad worked for the State Road Department of Utah, he was given a job as a supervisor of a crew that was based on Redwood Road and when he took over there was a man named Jamie who had been hanging out at the shed for some pretending he worked there … sort of a token job without pay.    He couldn’t talk other than a few signs and grunts; he was simple minded and hard of hearing.   He pantomimed most of his conversations and unfortunately some of the men who worked there started to mimic him and laugh at what he did.   He was almost treated like a pet.    They gave him their scraps from their lunch buckets and he would eat what he wanted for his lunch and take the rest home for his dinner.   Jamie took it all in stride and laughed along with them when they made fun of him, but Dad didn’t like what was happening and decided to take him under his wing and let his crew know that it was unacceptable to make fun of him or belittle him in any way.   He arranged for Jamie to get paid for working part time and gave him responsibilities and taught him what he needed to do.   He opened a checking account for him and taught him how to budget his money.     He taught him that it was not healthy for him to get his food from garbage cans and how to pack his own lunches and prepare a few simple foods.  

Jamie had a mouth full of seriously decayed teeth and they caused him a lot of pain but he didn’t have enough money to have anything done.    Dad took him to his dentist in Tooele and out of his own pocket paid to have Jamie’s teeth pulled.    They were beyond saving.    He bought him a set of false teeth but Jamie hated them and conveniently lost them after just a few weeks.   From that point on, Jamie idolized Dad and would have followed him around like a puppy if Dad would have allowed it.

Dad eventually  taught Jamie how to drive and helped him study for his driver’s license and when he passed the test helped him purchase a used truck so he didn’t have to depend on everyone else to get around.    He had a tiny little house and Dad helped him clean it and fix it up to something he was very proud of.  Jamie started feeling some self worth and you could tell by his face and body language that he was a happy man.

Jamie loved to come to our house on Sundays and go to church with Dad and have a nice big Sunday meal, and then take a nap on our living room sofa.    He had a bad smoking habit and his clothes reeked of stale smoke … and he also didn’t bathe as often as he should have.   (Dad was unsuccessful in talking him to give up smoking.) He bought Jamie a set of Sunday clothes and shoes that we kept at our house.   He’d come over, take a nice hot shower and Mom would throw all of his clothes in the washing machine and he’d put on the fresh, clean set, and did he ever look spiffy.      When it was time to go home he he’d change into the clean clothes Mom had washed and dried and hang his Sunday clothes up in a closet.

The thing is … Dad never did think he did anything special for people.   He used to say, "Anyone would have done it," but he was wrong.   Unfortunately, most people are intimidated by these types of situations and don’t know what to do.    Most people wouldn’t have seen beyond the smelly, simple minded man who couldn’t communicate.    In the goodness of their hearts they were giving him scraps of food … but they weren’t helping him become a better person.      They didn’t know how to help … but Dad knew instinctively and was always willing.

Dad didn’t ever lecture me about helping people or not judging others … he just showed me how it was done.    There is a scripture in the Book of Mormon that describes the kind of love my dad had for the people around him.      "Charity is the pure love of of Christ.  It is the love that Christ has for the children of men and that the children of men should have for one another.   It is the highest, noblest, and strongest kind of love and the most joyous to the soul."