On Thursday August 23, 2012-my grandpa (Bud Jones) passed away in his sleep. His entire life he would tell us how much he hated funerals and if he had his way he wouldn't attend his own--Well-he got his wish. Due to circumstances out of our control-we were not able to have a funeral service and burial service the same day. He had been in his hot home for quite some time, therefore having a closed casket and an expedited burial service was our only option. (You see-he didn't attend his own funeral)
Prior to the private (family) burial service we were invited to dinner at his favorite eating establishment-The Golden West. This was such a nice and thoughtful thing they did for us and for a brief moment-took our mind off of what we had to do that evening. The Lost River Valley hasn't had rain for weeks-guess what, the evening we are burying grandpa-there is a nasty rain storm with wind and sleet. Really Grandpa--you hate funerals that much??? We had a beautiful Bag Pipe selection that didn't leave a dry eye. It was such a special service that the family really needed.
The next evening we had a meet and greet at grandpa's house and it was a nice relaxing evening of catching up with old neighbors and friends. Later-Clyde, Cleve, and Evelyn Hymas set up a bon-fire kit and we sat around-roasted hot dogs-and told stories. Now this was something grandpa would have enjoyed.
On Tuesday-August 28-we had the memorial service at the funeral home. Again-grandpa was hard at work and the ceremony was on "his" terms. We had worked for hours picking out music and photos for a slide show---we ended up with over 160 photos lasting 32 minutes. Well-the night before we had to choose 2 more songs to complete the show. When we arrived we found out they had been up all night trying to figure out why the slide show would only play for 10 minutes and fade out---(this is what they do, and they had no clue why it wasn't working). Yep-grandpa only wanted 10minutes of photos. What a stinker. The service was beautiful and so difficult at the same time. What a wonderful man and I am so honored and happy to be able to call him my grandfather.
The memories I have of him bring a smile to my face and tears in my eyes but I wouldn't change any of them. I am going to miss him more than I can express-I realize he is in a better place-but I am still having such a hard time. There was something that happened to me on Saturday night that I believe was a special message to me, from him-(I'm not going to write it here, my family knows about it and agrees)-and that message will always stay in my heart; and brought some comfort to me when I needed it the most. Grandpa-I miss you and love you and can't wait to see you again!
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| Chase and Tristan---such handsome little guys |
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| Devin and me---I didn't look too bad for only 12 hours of sleep in 5 days. |
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| I'm so glad Tony's grandma and dad were able to make it. |
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| So proud of Tony and the wonderful job he did with the Life Sketch |
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| These two guys were definitely one of my many "rocks" |
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Luncheon after the memorial service
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| Evening Bon Fire |
Meet & Greet
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| Larry, Angela, and my mom----such special people whom I Love Very much |
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| Larry, Angela, and Kim (great Bag Pipe Selection) |
Golden West Cafe Dinner
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| We left grandpa's coffee cup out for him and his favorite table |
I'm not sure which boy is the silliest: Tony? Chase? or Tristan?
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| Cortlynn is so pretty |
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| The food was so yummy! Grandpa would have been proud. |
Meet & Greet
