Happy 102nd Birthday, Grandpa Joe!

My grandfather, Joseph Thiriot, turned 102 years old yesterday! While it is an incredible achievement to live to such an age, I think it is most impressive how he did it.

He was born on August 20, 1906 in Provo, Utah to George and Alvira Thiriot. He grew up on a ranch near Panaca, Nevada. In 1934, he graduated from Brigham Young University with a Bachelor's degree. He met my grandmother, Ellen Miller, while in Utah, and they married the day after he graduated. Grandpa Joe went on to graduate with a Master's degree from Northwestern University in Illinois.

He returned to teach school in Panaca, but in 1940, he moved to Las Vegas and began teaching at Las Vegas High School. The population of Las Vegas was only about 10,000 in those years, so most Las Vegas old timers know Grandpa Joe. He was a very popular teacher at LVHS, and ran the drama department there for years. He even led the drive to build an auditorium for the plays that he produced. For that, and many achievements in his nearly three decades at LVHS, the Clark County School District named a school in his honor in 2005.

Here he is in 2005, at the age of ninety-nine, on the first day of school at Joseph E. Thiriot Elementary School. He read an inspirational statement that he wrote to the students, the staff and the faculty, and then he cut the ribbon, which opened the school ceremonially, if not officially.

In 2006, when Grandpa Joe turned 100, there was a huge birthday bash that he and his three children arranged. Hundreds of people whose lives he had touched came to the party. Some flew in from around the country. I couldn't help but wonder how many more would have come if he had not outlived all of his contemporaries.

When school was back in session, he returned to the school to be honored by the students his 100th birthday. They made a huge banner for him and had a big celebration.

There was a story written about him in Desert Saints Magazine in 2002 in which Grandpa Joe was quoted as saying, “What really counts is what you’ve done to help others be effective in the years to come.” He has truly practiced what he preaches.

My grandfather is a man who was either blessed with or cultivated within himself an extraordinary amount of class. He is universally loved and respected. I have never met anyone who knew him that had anything other than the highest regard for him; I believe that is in large part attributable to the fact that he always treats others with respect.

Grandpa Joe is naturally one of the most cheerful people I have ever known. He listens and speaks with enthusiasm and inspires those around him to better themselves. While I am sure there have been those who have wronged him, I haven't heard him speak ill of others.

There are so many life lessons that I have learned from him, that I could go on for pages. In addition, there are numerous other life lessons he has taught me, whether by word or by example, which I have not yet mastered. I truly believe that I will need to live a long life like him so that I can be half the person that he is.

Perhaps Grandpa Joe's greatest, and most enduring legacy, are his three children, fourteen grandchildren, forty-one great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren, who love and honor him. I am proud to call him my grandfather, and I wish for him to have a wonderful birthday, of which he is so deserving. I love you, Grandpa!