Have any of your family members died? If so, what did they die from? What do you remember of their death, and what were the circumstances of their death?
On the list of questions, this is #6. I skipped it last week and did one of the bonus questions instead, but this week I've returned to it. The earliest death I experienced was that of my maternal grandfather, Grandaddy when I was just 9 years old. He died from lung cancer and we knew it was coming. I remember being sad that day at school thinking of him, and I remember being so sad for my Granny at his funeral. I remember having many beautiful and fragrant floral arrangements in our home afterwards, but I don't remember too much else.
That same year my cousin, Paul died. He was just 19 years old. He had been married less than a year and had a newborn son. He also died of cancer, but this was unexpected- melanoma. I was in year-round school then and I was flying to Idaho to visit my dad. I had a lay-over in San Francisco and my Uncle Karl (Paul's dad) got on the plane and sat beside me. I asked him, "What are you doing here?" He told me he just wanted to come and fly on a plane with me. Later, I learned that Paul had passed away that morning. I remember bawling my eyes out, but I also remember so much love. Many of my aunts and uncles (there are 11 in the family) came out for the funeral and I felt such strength being a part of the family. I wore a cream satin dress to the funeral (I didn't know funeral etiquette at 10 years old, I just wanted to wear my prettiest dress) and I remember my Aunt Janet complimenting me for wearing such a radiant color that made her think of the resurrection of Jesus.
Since that time I've lost 7 of my 8 grandparents, and several aunts, uncles, and cousins. There are 4 deaths though that have had a huge impact on my daily life and I will spotlight them here.
Eight months after Leonard and I were married we lost both of his parents Marlene and Arlie in a horrible accident. I only spent time with them on 6 different occasions (but 3 of those occasions were staying in their home for a week and another was when they stayed with us, so it was longer than just 6 days). They were truly the salt of the earth people. Arlie was a high school math and science teacher and served many years as a Vice-Principal and then Principal. All of his students sing his praises as not only teaching his subjects well, but for truly caring for them as individuals. He was a teacher that made a difference. Marlene was also a school teacher, but once she became a mother she stayed home to be with her boys. She was a remarkable knitter and made countless mittens, scarves, sweaters, baby outfits, blankets and more for children all over the world! She knit for her sons, her future grandchildren, her nieces and nephews, children in her community, and for children in war-torn areas that were sent out in care packages. She made a difference. The biggest impact they made though was raising their 4 boys in the gospel. All of their sons are married in the temple and raising their own children in the gospel. I so badly want that for each of my children and I hope I can raise my children as well as they did. They may not have had much material wealth, but they were rich in the things that matter! I think of them every day and look forward to the day when we will meet again in heaven.
On the list of questions, this is #6. I skipped it last week and did one of the bonus questions instead, but this week I've returned to it. The earliest death I experienced was that of my maternal grandfather, Grandaddy when I was just 9 years old. He died from lung cancer and we knew it was coming. I remember being sad that day at school thinking of him, and I remember being so sad for my Granny at his funeral. I remember having many beautiful and fragrant floral arrangements in our home afterwards, but I don't remember too much else.
That same year my cousin, Paul died. He was just 19 years old. He had been married less than a year and had a newborn son. He also died of cancer, but this was unexpected- melanoma. I was in year-round school then and I was flying to Idaho to visit my dad. I had a lay-over in San Francisco and my Uncle Karl (Paul's dad) got on the plane and sat beside me. I asked him, "What are you doing here?" He told me he just wanted to come and fly on a plane with me. Later, I learned that Paul had passed away that morning. I remember bawling my eyes out, but I also remember so much love. Many of my aunts and uncles (there are 11 in the family) came out for the funeral and I felt such strength being a part of the family. I wore a cream satin dress to the funeral (I didn't know funeral etiquette at 10 years old, I just wanted to wear my prettiest dress) and I remember my Aunt Janet complimenting me for wearing such a radiant color that made her think of the resurrection of Jesus.
Since that time I've lost 7 of my 8 grandparents, and several aunts, uncles, and cousins. There are 4 deaths though that have had a huge impact on my daily life and I will spotlight them here.
Fifteen months after we lost Arlie and Marlene, tragedy struck our extended family again. My cousin JR and his wife Amber died in a canoeing accident. They were only 26 and 23 and they left behind 5 young children (6, 4, 2, and 11 month old twins). We were living in Provo at the time and they were living in Salt Lake. We spent most of that summer up in Salt Lake helping my Aunt and Uncle as much as we could with their 5 grandchildren that they were now raising as their own children. JR was one of my closest cousins and Amber was such a sweet girl. Leonard stood in the blessing circle for their 3 youngest children. The last time we saw them was New Year's Eve welcoming in 1999 and as we left, Amber's last words were, "We sure love you guys!" We sure love them and we miss them so much! My heart just broke in so many pieces when they died. It broke from missing JR and Amber; it broke because they wouldn't get to raise their sweet babies; it broke for their babies that would grow up not remembering them; it broke for my Aunt and Uncle who not only lost their children, but also their best friends (they were next door neighbors). My cousin Cammy (JR's sister) is amazing and helped so much. I wanted to help every way we could too (we would have even adopted the children if we thought that was the right thing to do). Their oldest daughter is married now and expecting her second child. My heart breaks again that they don't get to hold their grandbabies. It is HARD losing loved ones! This is where my faith buoys me up because I KNOW that we will see JR and Amber again and all of our broken hearts will be mended.
