My grandfather passed at 95, a couple of years back. He was in good shape, mentally and physically, up until about a month before he went. He then suffered memory loss and some significant paranoia. He was in Florida, and I didn't learn of this until I went down to his funeral. After the funeral, I went to his home with other family and his wife. She invited me and other family to look around for small keepsakes and clothing to take, which would be meaningless in the probate process. My grandfather had always kept one handgun, a 1950s era Colt 1911 in .38 Super, loaded as a defensive handgun. As I looked around, I found probably a dozen firearms stashed about their home, all fully loaded. Some were a little scary, like the Winchester .30-30 with the hammer cocked over a loaded chamber in a golf bag with golf clubs in a closet by the front door. There was also a Smith 686 revolver in a kitchen cabinet, also locked. Both bathrooms had High Standard .22 Magnum derringers in a drawer.
(Yes, he had some nice guns. He had promised me the Colt, but it wasn't in the will. My step-grandmother was executor of his estate. She is from NYC, and an anti-gun Republican. She sold all of the guns to a dealer for a fraction of their real value, much less sentimental value. The dealer she sold the guns to offered to sell me the Colt for $5K.
