Grandpa Herb's funeral was on Saturday April 23rd. The evening before, all of the adults gathered at my Aunt Sheryl and Uncle Herb's house for dinner. It had been such a long time since we had all gotten together, so it was really nice to be able to hang out and visit. We had dinner, and then rehearsed the musical numbers that we would be singing at the funeral the next day. It was a perfect night, and so nice to be able to spend some time together. After the dinner, I had to rush home to put the finishing touches on the video that would be shown during the viewing the next day. I was really happy with how it all turned out!
The next morning, the viewing started at the church at 10 am. We all met in the chapel at 10:30 to rehearse our songs again, and then pretty much just all hung out there together until it was time for the funeral to start. It was nice to be able to spend some more time visiting with all my cousins and their families. On our way to the viewing, we had explained to the Tyler and Addison what would be going on that day, and told them that if they didn't feel comfortable going in to see Grandpa Herb, that they didn't have to. Not very long into the viewing, Tyler went and got Zuke and told him that he wanted to go in and see. Zuke was pretty surprised, and I was feeding Alexis at the time, so I had no idea what was going on. Tyler put on his brave face and went into the viewing, which in my opinion, is a pretty brave thing for a 7-year old to do. He was so sweet and respectful, and then got very emotional. He came out and found me in the foyer, and was just in tears. He told me how much he missed Grandpa Herb and how sad he was that he wouldn't be here with us anymore. What a sweet kid!
The funeral service was really wonderful. My uncle Herb gave a life sketch of my grandpa, and I actually learned quite a few things. My cousins, Garrett & Scott, and my sister Whitney all spoke about their memories of Grandpa. Their talks were all very thoughtful, and brought back a lot of my own memories of time spent with Grandpa. All of the grandkids, spouses, and great-grandkids sang "If The Savior Stood Beside Me", and all of the women in the family sang "In This Very Room". My mom and I picked out that song for us to sing, because it reminded us of how amazing it was to all be in the hospital room together when Grandpa passed away. I was doing really well at keeping my emotions in check until the very last hymn, "God Be With You 'til We Meet Again".
The service at the cemetary was really nice as well. Grandpa received full military honors, as he was a veteran of World War II. It was really cool to have the 21-gun salute and have taps played for him. After the cemetary, the whole family went back to the church for the traditional post-funeral lunch. My brother and sister-in-law did something really cool for the luncheon, but I have to share the back story with you before I tell you what it was. Growing up, my grandparents always had two extra fridges down in a room in their basement. Those were the soda fridges. We could always go down there and grab a cold glass bottle of soda. Every one of us associates glass soda bottles with grandpa's house, and his favorite was always Coke. Cameron and Amanda decided to purchase a whole load of Coke in glass bottles for everyone to drink during the lunch. It was the perfect tribute!
The funeral service was really wonderful. My uncle Herb gave a life sketch of my grandpa, and I actually learned quite a few things. My cousins, Garrett & Scott, and my sister Whitney all spoke about their memories of Grandpa. Their talks were all very thoughtful, and brought back a lot of my own memories of time spent with Grandpa. All of the grandkids, spouses, and great-grandkids sang "If The Savior Stood Beside Me", and all of the women in the family sang "In This Very Room". My mom and I picked out that song for us to sing, because it reminded us of how amazing it was to all be in the hospital room together when Grandpa passed away. I was doing really well at keeping my emotions in check until the very last hymn, "God Be With You 'til We Meet Again".
The service at the cemetary was really nice as well. Grandpa received full military honors, as he was a veteran of World War II. It was really cool to have the 21-gun salute and have taps played for him. After the cemetary, the whole family went back to the church for the traditional post-funeral lunch. My brother and sister-in-law did something really cool for the luncheon, but I have to share the back story with you before I tell you what it was. Growing up, my grandparents always had two extra fridges down in a room in their basement. Those were the soda fridges. We could always go down there and grab a cold glass bottle of soda. Every one of us associates glass soda bottles with grandpa's house, and his favorite was always Coke. Cameron and Amanda decided to purchase a whole load of Coke in glass bottles for everyone to drink during the lunch. It was the perfect tribute!
Uncle David, Garrett, Scott, & Jed
Shawn, my dad, Uncle Herb, Cameron (my brother)
Great-Uncle Al, my grandpa's brother, was an honorary pallbearer and
is following behind the casket.
Presenting the flag
My family
David & Connie's family
Herb & Sheryl's family
My sister, Whitney
My parents
The 3 sons and their wives
Addison & Abby
Casee & Whitney
My mom & Alexis
Me, Whitney, & Zuke
The grandkids and their Cokes. Grandpa would have been proud. :)
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