"Here she comes!"

On 29 Dec 2009, my grandmother passed out of this mortal life and slipped into the eternities. There was a service in California, then the family gathered in Springville, Utah, for the funeral service and burial.

My father gave a wonderful eulogy, and shared a poem that I had not heard before, called "Gone From My Sight," by Henry Van Dyke.

I am standing upon the seashore.
A ship at my side spreads her white
sails to the morning breeze and starts
for the blue ocean.

She is an object of beauty and strength.
I stand and watch her until at length
she hangs like a speck of white cloud
just where the sea and sky come
to mingle with each other.

Then, someone at my side says;
"There, she is gone!"

"Gone where?"
Gone from my sight. That is all.
She is just as large in mast and hull
and spar as she was when she left my side
and she is just as able to bear her
load of living freight to her destined port.
Her diminished size is in me, not in her.

And just at the moment when someone
at my side says, "There, she is gone!"
There are other eyes watching her coming,
and other voices ready to take up the glad
shout;
"Here she comes!"
And that is dying.

The grandchildren sang a hymn, dad and Blaine sang a duet, and I performed a piano musical number that was special to grandma and grandpa and the family.

[The camera cut out for a few seconds at the beginning, and the tears misted up a few spots so I couldn't see the page very well, but I think it was appropriate for the occasion. Note: the song is based upon a poem by Paul Verlaine, the text of which can be found here.]

The service was very beautiful. One of my cousins did a wonderful "grandchildren's tribute", that included many of my memories of Grandma. I'll have to write down more of my memories later (and get Dad to record some of his stories, like "cleaning" his room and getting into a cow pie throwing fight with Grandma while camping and riding from Orange County to Utah in a cardboard box).

Afterward, we drove to the cemetery said our last goodbyes -- knowing that it was only grandma's body that would soon be resting in the vault, for her spirit lives on. Dad dedicated the grave and we all placed our boutonnières on the casket. Aunt Lisa mentioned that there was a rose for each grandchild in the floral arrangement that was on top of the casket and said we could take one if we wanted. I wasn't sure if it'd make it home, but it did, and Jill dried it and it sits on our bookcase next to Grandpa's framed "wooden nickel". Grandma is probably rejoicing with those "other eyes watching her coming" -- her family and other loved ones who preceded her.

In our hasty packing for the trip, we managed to forget to pack our digital camera (couldn't find it!), but we had our video camera that could take digital stills and our Blackberries (although none of these devices take great quality pictures). At the service, Grandpa gave Jill his camera and asked her to document the day and take pictures for him, since he'd be busy visiting.

ASIDE: Grandpa handed Jill a great little digital camera to use. For as long as I can remember, it seems like Grandpa has always had this slim camera that he kept in his front shirt pocket. I just trolled Google picture search for the last 10 minutes to see if I could find a picture that reminded me what it looked like... It probably took 110 film, and I think it had a metallic case, and perhaps a little pouch that he kept it in. I'm sure Grandpa probably remembers what kind of camera it was, and I could call him, but I'll just have to clarify this section later. In any event, these two pictures kind of give you a feel for what it looked like (at least, how my mind remembers it). Grandpa's new camera is a compact 10MP with lots of removable storage. I'm sure he has fun snapping photos of the family with it!

Jill snapped away candids and wrangled the family together for group shots and videoed parts of the musical numbers -- right up until the battery died towards the end of the graveside. We quickly copied the images from the memory card onto my laptop on our way to the lunch afterward, so that we could post them here. (She then took some pictures with another family member's digital camera, but we haven't been able to get those files yet).

(Click the slideshow to see all the pictures)

Although a sad occasion, it was great to have nearly all of the family together. We even got to know some cousins that I hadn't met before. =)

Some of the crew had to hit the road early, but most of us ended up at Macaroni Grill for lunch (Erb, party of 50!). Uncle Clint graciously put the meal on his tab -- thanks Clint! And we visited, ate, and--let's not kid ourselves--drew on the paper table "cloth" with the crayons they gave us. After lunch, the California crew headed to the airport. We said our goodbyes, and continued our Utah trip.