Actually, the old guy was largely self-educated (like many of his generation) and only had about five or so years of what we would call formal schooling. That said, 'Grandpa Roy' was one of the most educated and intelligent individuals I ever knew.
He was also a bit of a savant. He could do rapid mental arithmetic, speed read a book in under an hour, and had damn near total recall of everything he read. He was also ambidextrous. He could (and often did) write with either hand using an elegant longhand script.
He had no use for what he called "idiot gadgets." He felt things like slide rules just encouraged your brain to be lazy. He used to use logarithms when he was doing heavy math. And as was typical with him, he had apparently memorized a good chunk of the Base-10 tables to save himself the need to look them up.
None of his mental talents rubbed off on me.
Roy was well-liked and respected inside and outside the family circle. He made it to three days short of his 102nd birthday, and was healthy, mentally aware, and physically spry right up until his last day. He died peacefully in his sleep.
Roy never lived to see the advent of personal computing. I sometimes wonder what he would have thought of the Internet?
I'm guessing the crusty old Gent would have thought it another great idea that got spoiled by idiots.
