If I falter today, forgive me. Thanks to the man before us, I inherited an ability to speak before the public without fear.

But that same man also claimed more of my heart than all but a handful of people in my life. Only his son, who was my father, and my dear mother, taught me more or were greater role models, living the lessons that carry me through the trying times of life. So standing here today is a little more challenging than usual.

One reason life is trying is because those three people taught me responsibility. Now I have a family with two teenagers and a wife, and all that goes with it. And I would sooner join my dad and my grandfather than let either of them down by skirting my duty. They taught me a parent does not assume responsibility for his children and family – he seizes it. It is his solemn duty.

A piece of me died along with him on Saturday evening, but at the same time, a part of him will live on in me and in my children and with the rest of our family he helped to give life.

My middle name is Charles. Charles Landreth. My son's middle name is Charles. Charles Landreth. Never in my 50 years have I been prouder of that name than today because it is a tribute to Charles "Charlie" Landreth, the patriarch of our family, the man whom we have come here to honor.

Yet before we bestow sainthood on my grandfather, let's remember he was, in the end, just a man. And yet that is the very thing that made him so special. Charlie Landreth came from a rough-and-tumble background in which only the toughest people survived. In his youth, he fought. He drank. He even hauled moonshine. He told me all of this, and he smiled when he said it.

What made him so unique is he changed. He became a man who went from a hardscrabble existence to one who spent most of his days serving neighbors and family. He became a minister, while also working full-time for a multinational corporation and operating a full-time farm.

He survived his father's suicide. He lived through the Great Depression. He hunted, not for sport, but to put food on the table for his family.

Throughout those years as a minister, he was always there when his parishioners needed him. Was there ever a time when anyone awoke in the hospital that Charlie Landreth was not standing there with a bible, a kind word and a prayer?

He may not be a saint, but he had more integrity than any man I have ever known outside of my father, who learned his lessons from this man, Charlie Landreth.

My grandfather lived through the most amazing period of human history. His first car was a Model T, which happened to be the initial model Henry Ford rolled off his new assembly line. When Charlie died, the Internet had become established as one of the most remarkable inventions man has developed yet.

He lived a long, proud, prosperous life, and as we have said, one that was long dedicated to doing the right thing and helping others.

I am not ashamed to say I am glad he has gone. Life ravaged him at the end. Watching the cruelty of it ate at my core. No one deserves what he suffered at the end, but particularly not Charlie Landreth.

Nonetheless, this is not to say there is not a throbbing pain inside me that hurts physically. The tears have dripped from my eyes uncontrollably since he died because I will never again see this man I worshiped for 50 years.

What I can say is that the traits he taught us who loved him and knew him best will live and continue. I can see different parts of him in others throughout our family.

So many people fear confrontation because it is unpleasant. My grandfather taught me it is often the only way to solve a problem. Then again, he also taught me tact because, frankly, he and my father could lack it at times.

None of us are perfect, but we can learn. We can grow and better ourselves and serve those around us. He taught me that as well.

Charlie Landreth was not a perfect human being, but he was one of the best God ever created, and I'm grateful to carry his genes. I count it as one of the greatest gifts life has presented me.

I will miss you PawPaw. Thank you for loving me unconditionally. You will live with me until I, too, am gone.