Funeral: To Each His/Her Own

 Yesterday I attended my Uncle Al's funeral.  I rode with my other baby brother and she who sees robins first.  The funeral was in a town 45 minutes away. There was a gathering time before the funeral service.

My Uncle Al had leukemia and bone cancer, he fought a good fight for over six years ...then the Doctors told him that there was nothing they could do for him anymore.  That was a few months ago shortly after that he went on Hospice.   

Uncle Al was seven years older than me.  He said "I am going to try like heck to make it to my 80th birthday." He was 39 days short of his goal.  He died exactly 4 months after his oldest sister (my Mother).

Uncle Al planned his own funeral.  Hence the name of the blog today To Each His/Hers Own.   The funeral was in an event room at the Holiday Inn.  The casket was in the far corner surrounded by flowers of many purple colors ( He was a Vikings fan).   A slide show of photos played on an large screen...but it was hard to see in a room with so many lights.  A Minister read the obituary out loud ( one of my pet peeves) ...because we cannot read for ourselves??  The sermon was the great message that we are all saved by the grace of God through his son Jesus Christ who lived a perfect life, was crucified and died for ALL our sins.  A number of people shared stories and one of his granddaughters wrote a lovely letter...it was apparent that she loved her Grandfather very much...this I knew was mutual because Uncle Al talked about all of his grandchildren with a huge smile on his face.  The music was fine...Frank Sinatra singing My Way and Elvis singing How Great Thou Art and one other song I cannot recall.  After the service the burial took place at a local cemetery and afterward there was an open bar and food served at the event center. 

We left shortly after the service. 

My Uncle Al is on the far left.  He was the 10th child born to my grandparents.  My Mother is the oldest in this photo on the far right.  Two children not pictured Alfred died in 1947 and James who died in 1948.  Now the only living person in this photo is my Uncle Kenny front row left who is two months younger than me. 

 Me and my Uncle Al in 1952. Uncle Al was seven years old when I was born.   He was the chief baby rocker in the Fall of 1951 and the Winter of 1952...there were three babies in the house...I was born in September and my Grandmother had twins in November. 

 

Funeral flowers from my siblings and I for our Uncle Al.

Far Side

 

Mud Holes

 Sometimes you cannot avoid all the muds holes in life.

Great Niece Aubrey has to have another bone graft surgery, this will be her 10th or 11th surgery.  Of course we want her to have the best possible outcome when they do her big surgery next year.

Great Niece Ava broke her leg while playing softball...surgery will be Friday.

My Uncle Al has just weeks to live according to his Hospice nurses.    I will visit him one day soon. 

Yup mud holes. 

Far Side

Update Ava's surgery was a success. Her leg should heal:)

In between

 Yesterday I picked up my Aunt Judy (she was married to Uncle Dennis who was my Mother's brother, he died a number of years ago) and she and I went to see my Uncle Al.  Uncle Al is 7 years older than me and loved the job of rocking babies instead of chopping wood.  I was born in September and my Grandmother had twins in November ( My Aunt Karen died a few years ago but Uncle Kenny is still alive and lives in Nebraska. )  So there were three babies to rock, Uncle Al says it was almost a full time job. 

So I am the in between kid...in between Al and Kenny.  They are the the last surviving members of that family.   Uncle Al was diagnosed with Leukemia 6 1/2 years ago, the Doctors bought him a few good years, recently the Doctors reported that the cancer is in his bones so there is nothing medically that can be done for him...enter Hospice to keep him comfortable. 

He is in good spirits, taking it one day at a time. His wife Donna is a marvelous caregiver, between her and hospice they hope to keep him at home for the duration of his life.  We had a nice visit and talked about many things.  We took chicken from KFC for lunch because it is one of Uncle Al's favorite lunches.

I also took him an old picture.  He looked at it and said "Is that me and you?"  Pretty sure it is!  The photo was taken at my Grandparents home and everyone else was way older than him.

Uncle Al and me June of 1952.

Aunt Judy and I had a good visit there and back, she has a really good sense of humor, so it was a giggly girls trip! 

It snowed on and off most of yesterday.

Far Side 

Visiting

 I lined up some deliveries to relatives.  Old Photographs that my Mom had saved over the years.   I started at one of my Dad's second cousins Hazel, then my Aunt Sharon, my cousin Danny (I met his dog Mick),  then lunch with my Aunt Judy, off to catch my cousin Holly's husband and son, and finally I ventured to my Uncle Al's.  It was a nice day to be out and about.  49 F or 10 C eh!  

When my Aunt Judy asked me to lunch, I asked her to "keep it simple"  Well...we had grilled ham and cheese on homemade sourdough bread, pickles, strawberries, grapes and then peach pie for dessert....with about the best pie crust I have ever tasted...musta been the lard:)  She is all alone now after my Uncle Dennis died a number of years ago so she gets a bit lonely. 

My Uncle Al was in fine form, he is feeling better after some Nuclear Chemo treatments.  He was seven years old when I was born...and the chief baby rocker for his  brother and sister and me....my Mom lived with her parents when my Dad went to Korea...and there were three babies in the house.  My Grandmother had twins two months after I was born and she was 40 years old. 

Lots of diapers on the cloths line with three babies in the house. 

Far Side