I was able to travel with my Dad back to Pennsylvania for my Grandma's funeral. She passed away Sunday morning and her funeral was the following Wednesday. My Mom offered to stay with my kids so that I could make the trip. There's no easy way to get to rural north-eastern Pennsylvania, which meant that it was a minimum 3 day trip. Finding a plane ticket at the last minute is not an easy thing to do these days. My Dad and I ended up on three flights each way on three different airlines, but at least we made it there and back. My sister and her baby Tyler also flew out separately from us.
The funeral was held at the branch in Montrose, PA, with a viewing preceding it. It was a lovely funeral. My cousins did a wonderful job singing and my Uncle Wayne gave the eulogy and my Uncle Dave gave a talk on death that he wrote specifically for the children that were in attendance. A friend from the branch sang a powerful unaccompanied solo of the hymn, "Be Still, My Soul." Then we went to the cemetery where my uncles Dave, Steve and Tom and my cousin Brian sang, "I Need Thee Every Hour." Then my Dad dedicated the grave following which my Granddad thanked everyone for coming and bore his testimony. It was a very spiritual service and it made all the hassle of traveling there worth it. We returned to my Grandparent's house for a luncheon and we spent the remainder of the day together as a family. My favorite part of the day was that evening when my Granddad, my Dad and all his siblings were sitting around the table sharing memories of Grandma and their childhood. There was lots of laughter and good natured teasing. I've always loved hearing my Dad's stories and it was interesting to hear his siblings memories. My Dad is 17 years older than his youngest brother Steve and it was fun to hear about things that happened after my Dad had left home. I took a ton of photos to share with my Mom and my brothers who couldn't be there.
Granddad Chudleigh with his children Walt, Wayne,
Sheryl, Dave, Marie and Steve at the viewing.
All the grandkids who were able to be at the funeral.
Eric and MaryBeth Chudleigh Buffington,
Randy and Suzanne Chudleigh Bell,
Jill Chudleigh Petty, Julia Chudleigh,
Jessica Chudleigh Stevens with Tyler
and Brian Chudleigh.
The sign for the cemetery where Grandma was buried.
In case you can't tell from the photo, the cemetery
dates back to 1795!
My cousin's daughter, Sydney Bell
taking a flower from the casket spray.
Lynn Cemetery is the most lovely
cemetery I've ever seen.
This is the view from the cemetery.
It's very rural and peaceful.
Me, Jess and baby Ty.
We are standing on a slope and I'm
downhill from Jess, which is why she
looks taller than me, which she is not.
Playing Mah Jong in memory of Grandma
with my cousins MaryBeth and Brian and
my sister Jessica in Grandma's living room.
My winning hand!
I scored over 300 points with this
hand alone. We decided that Grandma
must have been playing on my side.
The men of the family gathered around the
dining room table discussing what to do
about Granddad's driving situation.
The solution they came up with was to buy
a golf cart for him so that he can visit the other
houses on the "Chudleigh Compound" by himself.
The women working on one of Grandma's
favorite puzzles in the breakfast room.
Jessica and Julia.
My uncle Dave's birthday was the same day
as Grandma's funeral, so we celebrated the
next day with a birthday lunch at Suzanne and
Randy's house. My aunts Cindy and Lisa made
the mouth watering peach and blueberry pies.
1 comment:
I'm just now catching up on blogs! Nice summary of the funeral. Glad you could be there!
Post a Comment