Elena's Garden

Rich's Dad's memorial service was held on April 25, 2019. It was a lovely service held at the Conger Morris chapel in Central Point. It was a sweet group of friends and family. A man from their church played the guitar and played several of Dad's favorite hymns. They were How Great Thou Art and What Friend We Have in Jesus. Maura's husband, Brook, officiated the service. Rich and I put together a slide show of pictures of Dad from the time he was a baby until he was old. Several people shared memories of Dad including Brook, John (their next door neighbor), Mary and I. I shared a short paper called the Last Goodbye. Rich read 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18. We then traveled to Eagle Point where Dad was buried in the National Veteran's Cemetery. The weather was beautiful and the cemetery is beautifully kept. He had a full military internment. Here are some pictures of the day:

The Last Good-Bye

Many lasts are not known until they have passed...

I remember with fondness and sorrow, some of the lasts for Dad...

I remember the last story he told. It was just a few weeks ago and we were watching the weather channel and they were reporting on a really bad hail storm in the midwest. Mary really liked watching the weather channel with the folks. Dad seen Mary's big eyes about the huge hail. He told her the story of He and his brother Lon had gone to visit relatives in Texas and they had a car with running boards. They let Lon and Dad stand on the running boards as they were driving. All of a sudden a terrible hail storm started with huge stones falling. The relatives inside the car yelled, put your heads inside the car so you won't get killed by a hail stone. Mary was so taken with the story. She loved stories Dad told especially about farm experiences and things that happened to him when he was young. I fondly remember Dad and his stories. Some of them he told many times and each time he told them with enthusiasm like it was the first time he ever told it.

I remember the last time we prayed over a meal and he held my hand as Rich prayed. It was when mom, Mary and I stopped at Panda Express after we shopped at Walmart. We got their Terriaki chicken bowl. He could not eat much but mom got the chicken with chow mein noodles and he was able to eat just a little. It reminded me of how he always made sure that whatever they were fixing for the meal that there was a lot. He never skimped on the amount of food, making sure there was plenty for everyone. He always offered seconds and thirds to you, making sure you had plenty.

I remember the last gift he gave me was for my birthday. He was always so generous and loved giving gifts and receiving gifts, even if it was small and simple. It was one of his love languages. He loved to give Mary Christmas ornaments. Each year from the time she was born until she was 8 he gave her a lovely ornament. The last one was a wood carving out of balsa wood of the nativity scene of Mary and Joseph traveling to Bethlehem. Every Christmas there was a card with a gift of money for each one of us kids. This reminded me of how he always made sure that he had cash in his wallet. When he was too sick to go out, he always made sure mom got him cash to put in his wallet, that he kept laying on his chest of drawers so he would have money to give someone for a gift or to pay them for something he needed them to get for him.

I remember the last picture he took. It was of Mary and Mom standing by the beautiful flowers and balloons that were for their 70th Wedding Anniversary. He was using his phone to take the picture. He had the setting wrong and it was taking a selfie instead of Mary and Mom. I stepped in and helped him get it changed to take the picture in the right direction. It made me think of how much he loved pictures. He never tired of looking at pictures and sharing them with people. When Mary was a toddler and I was taking tons of digital pictures, I tried my hand at some artsy pictures and took a lot of Mary walking away from me in the yard. I remember Dad looking at them and asking mom why I took pictures of the back of Mary's head. I laughed and remembered the era he grew up in, with film being expensive and a picture of the back of the head would of been a waste of film. I also remember what Rich told me how he got Dad interested in having a personal computer. He showed him how you could photo shop a picture. Rich took a picture of dad and his fishing buddies all lined up and then he super imposed a huge fish on it, so it looked like they were all holding a huge fish. Dad was hooked and bought his own personal computer.

I remember the last good bye. We had the bed set up in the living room that day but he was still sitting in the recliner. I bent over to hold his hand and wish him good night. He kissed my hand and I told him I loved him. The following times we were there, he was sleeping when I left and did not get to tell him good bye. I know that when we get to heaven we won't have to say good-bye anymore, we will just say hello.

The voice of the Apostle John says in Revelation 21:4, "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”