We went to Cleveland last weekend to attend my grandmother's funeral. Grandma Larsen was 87 years old when she died, in the care of the staff of the Normandy in Bay Village. She had been suffering from Alzheimer's for nearly eighteen years, and the end, when it came, was comparatively painless. While losing his mother broke my father's heart, he was glad to have had a mother like Grandma Larsen, and grateful to have had the chance to say goodbye.The memorial service took place at Bay United Methodist, which Grandma, raised a Lutheran, rather mysteriously attended for the majority of her life, eventually guiding her son John into the ministry. Uncle John spoke last at the service, and he was funny, touching, loving and respectful not just to Grandma, but to his brothers as well, repeating my Uncle Bob's anecdote about Grandma reading the book, "The Little Engine that Could," and its effect on his life. Three of the cousins, Brett, Kelly and me, were also asked to speak, and I really enjoyed their take on growing up with Grandma in Vermillion, Ohio, with life on the beach and trips to the candy store. Really, you can't Hollywood a better story than that.
Afterwards, we all gathered at my father's house in Rocky River, and eventually took this photo. Unfortunately, my sister Heather and her family couldn't stick around, as they had a number of events they had to make for my nephews. Whenever I think I'm busy, I think about Heather and her amazing ability to keep track of two boys, one girl, a husband, a household, *and* run a marathon. I think she's brilliant and organized well beyond my own small ability. At any rate, we gathered what family members we could find and posed for this shot on the back deck. It was fun afterwards to compare the faces of the family to the photos my dad took almost two decades ago in my uncle's church in Salem, OH. Kids have grown. Weight has shifted (mostly to the face). More kids came onboard (from where? STOOOORRK!). It's important to remember that the silver lining to losing a family member is having these moments with your family.PS - thanks to Brandi for driving the entire way back. We make a nice team.
2 comments:
We were ships passing while attending two different funerals. For us it was Dave's Uncle Rocky, the service was Friday morning at Mt Carmel, very Italian. Our condolences.
Thank you so much for your condolences, Karen. Same from me. I don't think I ever met Dave's Uncle Rocky, but it's a shame we're losing so many relatives. I hope that's all we have to go through this year.
Sorry we couldn't make the connection in Cleveland. We had to race back to Chicago to make my appointment to be a heart model (I'll post more on the outcome of that later).
Take care.
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