When the Davenport family of Payson dresses for Halloween, there is one member who makes the family theme a little extra special: Grandpa.
Arthur Colgrove (who might as well hyphenate his name to Colgrove-Davenport), is the John Hammond to their Jurassic Park cast; the Odin to their Thor ensemble; the wiseman to the Christmas Nativity; and the “old Dr. Strange” to accompany a much younger version. He also dressed as Mr. McFeely when his grandson, Desmond Davenport wanted to be a mailman.
According to Colgrove, being a grandpa is about as good as it gets, and Halloween is one of many times during the year when he gets to show how much he enjoys that role.
“I grew up with involved grandparents, so it’s just what we do,” Colgrove said. “I love the kids. It’s my life now. You know, some of my old hobbies I can’t do anymore — motorcycling and stuff. So, these kids are my everything.”
Colgrove is a widower, having lost his wife, Cynthia Colgrove in 2009 due to complications with pneumonia and ARDS, just one day short of her 50th birthday. Now, a single grandpa, Arthur Colgrove reminisced of Halloween’s past, saying that the Holliday has always been a favorite of his growing up and as a father himself.
“We’ve always enjoyed Halloween,” he said. “We’ve been decorating and dressing up as far back as I can remember. When my wife was still with us, we always decorated the house and did strobe lights and black lights and dressed up. We just all love Halloween.”
Kacie Davenport, Colgrove’s second daughter, lives a minute’s walk away from him. She said that she loves how involved her dad is, not just during the fun-filled holiday, but in general.
“I love that I get to carry over the traditions that I grew up with, with my kids and not just with me, but also with the person who I started the traditions with – my dad,” Davenport said. “When we were looking for a house, we looked all over Utah County and it was just a fluke that we wound up half a block away. I love it because my kids have a safe place they can go. They ask all the time, ‘can we go over and see grandpa today?’ It’s. just a nice place my kids can go and I can trust they’ll be safe and they get that relationship with grandpa.”
Even if the Davenports were to dress in their own Halloween theme, Colgrove would likely find a way to add to it.
“I have a tendency to see what they’re doing and then just kinda add to it,” Colgrove said. “There was one year (Kacie’s husband Kimball) dressed up as Doctor Strange, and I dressed up as an older Doctor Strange as who was a real doctor. There was a year that little Desmond wanted to be a mailman. My wife was a letter carrier and I grabbed some of her old clothes and I dressed up as the “speed delivery” guy from Daniel Tiger. I pretty much see what they’re going to do and go from there.”
With Colgrove’s white beard, there are some limitations, and when presented with next years’ plan, he said he’s a little unsure if he can pull it off, although he certainly will try.
“Next year, the kids want to do Pokemon. So, good luck,” Davenport said.
To which, Colgove replied, “Oh, dear.”