Storyboard by

Michael Eugene Soppe

soppe1 — 2024-09-22 23:01:46 UTC

Born on June 8, 1948 to Clarence and Henrietta Soppe

Mike has one older sister, Mary Jo and one younger brother, Jerry

Mike married Judith Kolwey on September 7, 1974

Together, they had one son, Kevin Soppe

Kevin Soppe then had his only daughter, Tiara Soppe

Family

soppe1 — 2024-09-22 23:19:45 UTC

My grandpa and my dad are very old-school. Mike Soppe has a knick for fixing things, getting his hands dirty, motorcycles, cooking a good breakfast, playing cards like euchre, occasionally gambling with his wife, Judy, and taking care of everyone around him. My dad was a riot growing up and he definitely gave my grandparents a hard time, however, my grandpa likes to recall all the good memories they have. It wasn't until February 14, 2020 when I had to call my grandpa at work to tell him, my dad abruptly passed away in our home from carbon monoxide poisoning. "you're not supposed to outlive your children" my grandpa said. "This wasn't a grief I was expecting to experience and endure. I know as we get older, friends get sick and you have more funerals to attend, but this just isn't right" he continued. My grandpa chooses to believe everything happens for a reason, I think this is what has kept him sane. Fortunately, we have clung so tightly to each other and I am extremely close with my grandparents. He always reminds me that he has so many people (my dad's friends) checking in on them and they even attended my grandparents 50th anniversary party 2 weeks ago. He elaborates that the love and support is so strong on this journey of his grief.

Growing Up

soppe1 — 2024-09-22 23:24:27 UTC

Mike had a semi-rough childhood. It wasn't ideal by any means. His parents divorced when he was in 7th grade. His mother experienced a lot of mental health issues, such as schizophrenia. His father cheated on his mom. He switched schools. He noted that he would hitchhike almost everyday after school to get home, which you simply could never do in today's world. He said it was normal to do so back then. He worked at his fathers' florist shop and to this day, he has about 20 plans in his living room and he takes pride in them and gardening. He noted that you have to take care of things to make them last. He said this is similar to his marriage. I joked and asked how he did it because 50 years is a long time; he said "it's a lot of nodding your head and saying 'yes, honey'".

Family Reunion!

soppe1 — 2024-09-22 23:46:11 UTC

Family has always been important to Mike. He expressed how it's hard having his sister, Mary Jo live in Colorado but they've always managed to visit each other every so often! Meanwhile, Jerry doesn't come around because his mental health issues have declined significantly. My grandpa emphasized how important it is to show up. When we visited, Mary Jo's dementia has worsened. She didn't recognize my grandpa. It broke my heart seeing my grandpa get teary eyed because of that. He said "It's just not her anymore, she's gone." However, he elaborated that she's gentle, will give hugs and kisses, and talkative and that the stigma around dementia is bad. Mike said society has changed 100% from when he was younger to now. He think that society looks down on aging and that elder people seem helpless or "don't know a lot". He mentioned he always respected his elders and thinks the internet has changed this perspective on aging and health. He even stated people just think you develop dementia just because you're aging but we don't truly even know the cause. People just view aging as a bad thing and that health issues come with it. Of course, he has more doctor appointment at this age then he did before but that's just to ensure he is okay!

Society

soppe1 — 2024-09-22 23:52:36 UTC

Well, culture and society has definitely changed. For example, he was drafted for the Vietnam War. He feels that not many people go into the military or even think of it as an option and that college is the only way to be successful. Back then, no one hardly went to college, unless you had money. He then stated how technology has completed taken over our generation. This has affected how people interpret the aging process and invaded the workforce. Moreover, he thinks the whole idea of stores going "cashless" is ridiculous. He always carries cash! Don't even get him started on inflation, the cost of living, or his property taxes increasing every year, despite the house being paid off for the last 40 years. He also said he doesn't think people enjoy the small things anymore, let alone have the time to. He said everything seems more robotic and superficial nowadays. People can't even get on the phone to make a call anymore, it's always an abbreviated text message. Oh, and the newspaper! He reads the newspaper religiously, however people probably don't even realize they still make physical prints instead of reading whatever on the Internet.

Advice

soppe1 — 2024-09-22 23:56:36 UTC

Love your people while they're still here. Travel! See the world. Make impulsive choices. Live your life. Pursue your career. Wait for kids. Make your dad proud. These were his pieces of advice to me. He emphasized that home will always be here.

Songs

soppe1 — 2024-09-23 00:03:35 UTC

This song sticks out to my grandpa because of his marriage with my grandma. It's a lifetime of true love. He shared a story that he remembers when we first heard this song and started dancing with my grandma.

Other songs include "Blaze of Glory" by Jon Bon Jovi because that was my father's funeral song that he picked out, so obviously there's a lot of strong emotions attached with that song. Lastly, he said any song by ZZ Top. He's seen them in concert and he loves his older rock music.

Aging Process

soppe1 — 2024-09-23 00:17:53 UTC

I never really thought about my life or my future or even growing old. It just happened, he said. Next thing he knew, he was married, had a kid, then a grandkid, and then retired. He compared me to the aging process because obviously I want to look young, but we don't realize how lucky we are if we get to grow old. There's so much negative connotations with being old but people don't realize we get to see generations of our family, make memories, and live more life. Growing up for him, no one ever wanted botox or work done to look younger. He said he feels like that's the new normal. People also tend to think once you get to a certain age, your life is just over. Since retiring, he's had more time to do what he really wants to do, including traveling. He made sure to point out that he does all can as far as taking care of himself to hopefully live a long, fulfilling life. Again, he really just elaborated how technology and the internet has influenced this. He's not on the internet at all but obviously, everyone else is. I pointed out my findings with the greetings card and how they seem to make jokes about aging, to which he agreed. He laughed, but he didn't even realize that the older you are, the way these cards are made to literally make fun of elders. I think that just goes to show how we as a society have enforced this, that the elders have just accepted it and don't view it as discrimination. However, I will say my grandpa isn't sensitive. Although, he did say he's definitely gotten remarks about asking if he needs help simply because of his age, assumingely.

soppe1 — 2024-09-23 00:34:48 UTC

This article above and this link to another: https://vault.fbi.gov/Columbine%20High%20School%20

are two of the biggest events in the news that my grandpa pointed out that were impactful. They set the tone for a dark period of time. He says this is when he realized that terrorism is a big issue in the U.S. 9/11 also gave him flashbacks from Vietnam. As far as Columbine, as a grandparent, he was extremely worried for his grandkids. As we previously mentioned, growing up he would hitchhike and now, he didn't even feel safe in his grandchildren or any children for that matter, going to school at all. Lastly, he mentioned the stock market drop in 2008 as he had just retired earlier that year. He mentioned that it seems as got older, life became more "scary" he said. This only worsened when the pandemic of COVID-19 started, which he said was truly unlike anything he had seen before. The world completed stopped. These articles and events explain that the world he grew up in versus mine or even my grandchildren has become scary.