Friday, December 31, 2004

Funeral Part 2

I just wanted to put down some of my thoughts about the funeral while they were still fresh in my mind.
This wasn't my grandmother, yet I had met her numerous times and even gone and stayed with her and Grandad once.

I really wanted to involve the kids, though they hardly knew their great grandmother (due to living so far away). They were really well behaved in the service and then at the graveside. They seemed fine with the concept that this was just great grandma's body going into the ground and that she was dancing with the angels in heaven.

I think the thing that choked me up the most was during the funeral procession when the local copper directing traffic stood at attention with his hat held to his chest as the hearse and family cars went through the intersection he was managing and then in my rearview mirror I saw him with his hat back on directing traffic. The respect he showed my wife's grandfather made me very proud of him.
Of course most people in the town of Monto would know Len. He painted the street numbers on the curbs for every house in the town. Part of an emergency response system so that fire engines and ambulances could locate houses easily. That's the sort of bloke he is. Grandma was his proud supporter and his best friend for 53 years.

We will miss her, but her spirit lives on with Grandad Len.

He invited us to stay - said there were spare rooms and he would be lonely now. We will arrange a trip soon I think.


Posted by: Jethro | 1:20 PM |