Dad was prepared! He had his funeral plans complete and paid for before he died. All we had to do was choose flowers, write the obituary, put the death date on the headstone, and put on a celebration of his life.
Putting together pictures and a display to celebrate dad was emotional, but brought back many memories of times past and helped me get to know him even better. We included items from his missionary service for the LDS Church in the Southwest Indian Mission, items from his service in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, items from his work life as a NASA engineer, items describing his service as a leader in the LDS Church, and most important - items that detailed his family life.
It was a beautiful celebration. Angels were present as earthly angel granddaughters sang "Come Thou Fount", a rendition composted by my beautiful Melissa Lynn. Not a dry eye was seen by the end of this performance.
In the limousine ride to the cemetery, all my siblings and I piled in - just like we did so many times before on family vacations. This time we were much bigger, much older, and missing our parents. On the drive over, we began singing the song our parents taught us in the many hours spent on the road, "Jesus Loves Me, Yes I know" in Navajo. It was decided that we would sing this song at dad's grave as a tribute to his love. I know dad was thrilled - he was there with us. I will not soon forget the feeling of peace and love that was felt by all.
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