Oh- also, should I cut the buds off or leave them on?

Sorry about the bad news about your grandpa.

Assuming that the temperature in the garage did not
get below 15-20 *F, all tips are still viable and
can be used as cuttings, now or later.

However, since grandpa passed away (God bless his soul),
why not carry-on his wish alive, ask/take for the
mother plant and nurish it for grandpa's sake...
Before it also (said to say, goes)...

George (NJ).

Yes, you can take cuttings now. They do not need to be refrigerated (they did that in the garage all winter).
Gorgi has a good idea, but if you can't obtain the whole tree, take the cuttings.

If there is no rush, I'd do an airlayering instead. It's guaranteed to work, no waste of fig wood, and one gets a stronger plant faster. If you're not familar with airlayering, here's how it works:

While the plant is in active growth, take a clump of moist peat moss or similiar material, place it around a spot on a limb and secure it by wrapping with foil or plastic wrap. In 4 - 6 weeks roots will have developed and the limb can be removed and planted. Note that the moss may need to be watered during this rooting process to maintain moisture.

For the rooting medium, I like to use these flattened peat pellets that are sold for seed starting. I soak the pellet and let it swell up, then slit the outer casing from top to bottom on one side to create a "hot dog bun" effect. I then put this on the limb, the limb being like the hot dog going into the bun. Then wrap this with foil. I like using these because they're easy, small, neat, no fuss, and hold water well.

Sometimes you read something that is so brilliant, yet so simple. It makes so much sense that one begins to wonder, "why didn't I think of that before?" Gene, I've never thought about using the peat pellets. It is genius!

~james (wondering why he didn't think of that before)

The expanded peat pellets are relatively small, about 1 1/2 X 2 1/4", and the resulting root mass will also be small, and probably not capable of providing for a fairly large air-layer plant. I emailed Gene about this and he said that he used the pellets on small air-layerings, especially when done near the tip of the branch.
Therefore, if your air-layer plant is going to be sizeable, you will still want to use the usual sphagnum moss method.....Elder (Lou)

One question: Do you need to scratch or do something to the limb before you put the moss (or pellet) on? Thanks

For air-layering, the 'standard' goes to nick/wound the limb.
A few people just do nothing?!?
I bought some 'rooting pots' with instructions to COMPLETELY
girdle the twig (to my surprise!). It WORKED very well for
the normal ~1/2" fig twigs, but not for the thinner ones...
George (NJ).

For many things, you need to girdle the branch (through the cambium) to interrupt nutrient flow and initiate root growth. Probably with figs it is unnecessary, as they will form roots on any part the tree that is in soil or compost or some other damp material. If you just bend a branch down and cover it with soil, it will root. But girdling wouldn't hurt. You can think of a scion cutting as being girdled, at least as far as the bark and cambium are concerned.

The idea of total girdling has some sound logic in that
the 'food/energy' produced by the current green leaves
will have nowhere to go, but, only to the twig survival,
aka., MAKE THEM ROOTS asap...

Correction:
The twigs more 'mother' instinct is to produce 'fruit,
aka, more seed offsprings'; so such fruit buds should
be definitely be pinched off....

Flora2, I don't girdle, or do anything for that matter, to the limb being airlayered. At one time I would make a cut and insert something to keep it apart. After losing several branches to the wind I quit that. Pitangadiego is correct when he says figs don't need to have anything done to induce rooting, so I say why bother. Plus, if you girdle the branch it cuts off the flow of nutrients into that part of the fig tree you want to root and grow. So, let the mother tree support the newbie while roots are forming.....Elder (Lou)