Arizona Funeral

We left Wednesday afternoon to make our way down to Arizona.  The weather was great and it took us no time to get down to Mesquite, NV to stay in our favorite low cost hotel.  We made it to Gilbert early Thursday afternoon.  That night we had a BBQ at Emily and Ryan’s place.  The weather continued to be beautiful on Friday, so we took a little trip to the park.

Friday was the viewing.  It was great to see Mita one more time, although it was only her body, and also get together with so many family members and friends of the family.  It was much like the viewing of Mita’s late husband Stanley (Papa) almost exactly 8 years earlier.  

That night most of the cousins went out for a little late night dinner and spent a few hours talking about Mita and catching up on life.  Saturday was the funeral and it was wonderful.  It started with all of the grandkids and great-grandkids singing a medley of Mita’s favorite songs.  I Love to See the Temple, a short French song she use to sing when we were young, Popcorn Popping, and then I am a child of God.  There was both laughter and crying through the whole thing.  My father gave the eulogy followed by my Aunt Francine who gave her life story.  I hope to get a copy of her talk.  Then my cousin Jacquelen and I sang her favorite hymn, Each Cooing Dove, from the old Hymn Book and it closed with my Uncle Kirk giving a more gospel oriented talk about our journey on Earth.  We then filed out of the church and waited for the procession of cars to form to take us to the cemetery.  

The grave side ceremony was just as sweet as the actual funeral service.  Mita was loved by many and she created a wonderful family that is very close.  We may not see each other often, but when we get together it’s just like old times.  It was good to see all of her living children, including their sort of adopted son, Don, who lived with them for a few years.   

After the graveside service we returned to the church for a small luncheon that her ward put on for us.  It is wonderful to see the support the church gives to so many people. 

After it was all over we headed to my Aunt Josette’s house and then to Nicole’s house for a little more time together.  My cousin Candice who just had a baby several days before this all happened, made a surprise one day visit for the service.   It was great to have 14 of the 17 grandkids all together.  

During the whole weekend Drew was having a little trouble breathing so we borrowed a nebulizer and some albuterol so he could breath a little easier.  He took to it well and even enjoyed holding it during his treatments.  On Sunday Michelle and I packed up the car and after taking a picture of Drew with my parents we headed home.   

We were really eager to get back so we didn’t stop in Mesquite.  We went all the way home by one in the morning.  It was a quick trip, for a sad reason, but it was a good trip and one that will be remembered.

For family members that want all the pictures that I took during the viewing and funeral go to the following link:
http://picasaweb.google.com/drslice3232/MitaSFuneral?feat=email#