Wednesday, April 3, 2013

My Father

                        

My Father passed away on February 16th.  He had gone into the hospital on Feb. 14th and was expected to come home on the 17th.  While in the hospital he had some internal bleeding but his blood was to thin so they couldn't open him up without the risk of him bleeding to death.  So all of us children that live close were able to go to the hospital and say our goodbyes before he passed away.  Losing him has been really hard on our whole family.  His Funeral and Burial were very beautiful and I feel both my Brothers did such an incredible job honoring him.  Many friends and family came to pay their respects which was so wonderful.  Every day I miss him but I know he is in a better place and that he is no longer suffering.  I am so thankful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the knowledge that I know I will see him again and like Our Savior he will live again.  My Father was an amazing man and I feel very privileged that I was able to care for him during he his last few years.  I also want to express my Love for my Husband because he was so incredible and helpful to my Dad.  Living with your in laws can be hard but my Husband did it because he knew they needed us and he did it without complaint. 
 
We had his funeral on Wednesday Feb. 20th with a little luncheon afterwards.  My Brother Cris gave a beautiful Eulogy and then my Brother John gave an amazing talk on the Atonement and Resurrection.  Also the Grandchildren all sang I am a Child of God which was so incredible and something I think my Father would have been very proud of.  We didn't bury him until Feb. 27th because my Sister Anna was having surgery on Feb. 21st and we wanted to give her time to recover before the burial.  My Brother Cris and his family were able to fly in from Texas for the week of the funeral but unfortunately only he was able to attend the burial so that was hard not having the rest of his family here for it.  A few things I want to remember about that week were one the out pour of love and support from family and friends.  The second was how nice it was to be with family and be able to remember my Father and laugh about good times.  The last thing I want to make sure to remember was how so many people said that on the Evening before he passed they had random thoughts about it.  Sort of like my Father was saying goodbye to those he loved but didn't get to see very often.  My Father is buried at Riverside National Cemetery where he received a veteran's burial that included a 21 gun salute.  After the shots were done the men picked up the shell casings and gave them to each of the grandchildren which was really special.  I am so thankful for my Family and I love them so very much. 
 
We made this board full of pictures to display at the luncheon
it turned out really great
 
                                   
   







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