October 30, 2008

• SAYING GOODBYE

  
  

  First of all, thank you all so very much for your condolences.  You don’t know how much they meant to Ken and me.  I read them all to Ken, and he appreciated them so much.You have all become “family” to both of us, and your caring is so very special.  I love you all.  God Bless every one of you!

  
  

  We left home at 6 a.m. on Tuesday for the four hour drive to Chippewa Falls.  It was quite cold out, but there was no snow, which had earlier been a possibility.

  
  

  We arrived an hour ahead of time, so went to a gas station and got some doughnuts to tide us over—since we hadn’t eaten before we left.

  
  

  We arrived at the church at the same time most of Warren’s family did.  They were all in good spirits.  Before the service there was a lot of visiting and sharing of news of the various families.  A couple of Warren’s boys we hadn’t seen in about 10 yrs.  I did manage to get the four boys together for a picture before the service.

  
  

  The 4 “K”‘s:  Kip, Kurt, Keith, Klint

  
  

  

  
  

  I took a picture of the table in front of church with the box of Warren’s ashes, his bible, his flag (He was in the Marines—served in Korea in the 50′s.)  Also on the table is a picture that was from one of the Builders for Christ brochures.  Those are Warren’s folded hands, with either drywall paste or paint crusted on his nails.

  
  

   

  
  

  The service was beautiful.  Warren wanted it very simple—he was a humble man.  In fact, he didn’t even want his obituary in the paper until the day after the memorial service.  It was mostly family and close friends.  Even at that, their small church was pretty much filled.  The pastor gave a wonderful sermon, but broke down close to the beginning.  He and Warren were good friends.  He composed himself and said that when Warren died, a multitude of angels came for him—and they were all wearing tool belts—-a reference to all his work for the Builders for Christ.

  
  

  After the service was over, their son, Kurt, talked about his dad.  All four sons have grown up to be strong Christian men.  Kurt said their dad was the foundation (or cornerstone—can’t remember which) of their family, while Doris was the mortar that held it all together.  Good comparison. 

  
  

  Both the pastor and Kurt mentioned about it being such a mix of emotions.  Joy that Warren is now in heaven and out of his pain, yet sadness that we cannot enjoy his company until we join him there in the future. 

  
  

  Through this,  I was thinking about how awful it would be to have amnesia or Alzheimers.  As we age, we have more and more wonderful memories of those we love.  After they are gone, we can just go to our memories and relive great times!!

  
  

  After the funeral, we went to the cemetery, and then back to church for a meal.  That is when the real visiting and reminiscing begins.  I almost forgot to take more pictures.  I was enjoying visiting so much!  This is always a happy time for almost everyone.  I missed some of the relatives that had already left.

  
  

  Warren’s wife, Doris, with niece, Dawn and her hubby, Scott.  Dawn is their Goddaughter.  Two other godchildren of theirs were able to attend, too.  Ken’s brother, Danny, was Dawn’s dad.  Danny was the baby of the family.  He died suddenly not quite two years ago in Florida.

  
  

  

  
  

  Out of 7 brothers, only three are still with us.  Martin, on left, is a Lutheran minister.  Merlin is retired–he is the one who had the 70th birthday party last month. and my sweetie, Ken.  You can tell that we were reluctant to leave.  The kitchen volunteers were cleaning up around us stragglers.

  
  

  

  
  

  None of the three sisters could come.  Linda had just gone to Arizona for two months, Diana is down in Georgia, and the local sister Elaine, just couldn’t make the trip.  She is not in the best of health.  She stopped by our house after church on Sunday, and her one leg is all swollen.  The Dr. wants to do some testing to see if there is a clot.  There is no way she could–or should– sit in a car for 8 hrs!! 

  
  

  I took more pictures of various family members, but will not bore you with them all.  I have e-mailed them to family members who could not attend.

  
  

  We were tired—neither Ken nor I slept very well the night before, but we decided to come home the same day, rather than staying at a motel.  We stopped to eat, which refreshed us quite a bit, and enjoyed a most beautiful sunset between Green Bay and home.  Reminded us both of how wonderful God is to us, that he can give us such a beautiful sight.

  
  

  

  
  

  So ended a day filled with so many emotions.

  
  

  Sadness—Joy—Peace

  
  

  Thank you Lord!

  
  

   

  
  

   

  
  

   

  
  

   

  
  

   

  
  

   

  
  

   

  
  

   

  • 12:26 pm
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