Tyrades! Was your grandfather a character?

Valentine’s Day and other time-sensitive topics delayed my writing about this, but a few weeks ago marked the 50th anniversary of the death of my grandfather, Carl Spencer Tyree.

I’m juggling a lot of plates, but very few days go by that I don’t think of “Paw.”

“Ornery,” “opinionated,” “contrary” and “irascible” are some of the words people have used to describe him over the years; but I choose to take a more nuanced look at the forces that shaped him.

Both of his grandfathers fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War. His first wife died soon after delivering their first child. He and m...