On Friday, I left with everyone except Connor and Ryan, and drove up to Levan to be with my mom. Connor seemed to be getting sick, so we thought it would be wise for him to wait a day or two. While he waited, he also attended the school's Harvest Party, and performed in a piano concert (his cold went away quickly, thank goodness.)
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| Celeste. Somewhere in between Baker and Las Vegas. |
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| Square Dancing |
Chuck's memorial service and cremation were scheduled for Tuesday, but I'm glad we were able to be there beforehand to help with arrangements and to just spend time with our family. It's funny how, even when someone passes away, little things still need to be done. Kids still laugh and play, meals need to be eaten, and chores still need to be done.
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| The girls had no cold-weather clothes, so we went to Walmart. |
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| The little ones spent a lot of time in this fort. |
The day before the memorial service, the kids drew special pictures to put on Grandpa's casket. Connor said he preferred to say something at the service, but the others expressed themselves on paper.
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| Corinne: "Coffin with Flowers" and "Love" |
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| Evan: "Circle of Life" |
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| Elise: "Levan Landscape" |
On Tuesday morning, we all got up very early and drove to Sandy for the memorial and cremation. I was very nervous about something going wrong: being late, getting lost, the kids behaving badly, the baby crying, saying the wrong thing, etc. We did get into a car accident on the Sandy off-ramp (somebody rear-ended us), but we still arrived on time.
Rather than a traditional funeral service, Mom had decided to do a small family gathering at the crematorium. She had ordered a large bouquet of assorted flowers, each one holding a special symbolism or meaning, and there were framed pictures placed around the room, with a viewing of the simple, open casket in front. It was beautiful, and perfect for him and for us. In attendance were Mom, Kevin and Liz, Kyle and Kelli and their kids, our family, and Mom's friend Tina. Kevin conducted, and people took turns sharing memories and thoughts. Connor shared the story of when Grandpa gave him and Elise real handball trophies after teaching them to play in the backyard, and I shared a spiritual experience I'd had several nights previous. The kids were able to put their pictures on the casket, and everyone placed flowers from the bouquet, then everyone except my mom and her kids filed out into the lobby. We four got to place the casket and be witnesses to the cremation in the adjoining room. We were sad, certainly, but I felt so much love in that room.
It was really a beautiful service, from start to finish. I was also very proud of my kids for their sensitivity and reverent behavior.
Rather than a traditional funeral service, Mom had decided to do a small family gathering at the crematorium. She had ordered a large bouquet of assorted flowers, each one holding a special symbolism or meaning, and there were framed pictures placed around the room, with a viewing of the simple, open casket in front. It was beautiful, and perfect for him and for us. In attendance were Mom, Kevin and Liz, Kyle and Kelli and their kids, our family, and Mom's friend Tina. Kevin conducted, and people took turns sharing memories and thoughts. Connor shared the story of when Grandpa gave him and Elise real handball trophies after teaching them to play in the backyard, and I shared a spiritual experience I'd had several nights previous. The kids were able to put their pictures on the casket, and everyone placed flowers from the bouquet, then everyone except my mom and her kids filed out into the lobby. We four got to place the casket and be witnesses to the cremation in the adjoining room. We were sad, certainly, but I felt so much love in that room.
It was really a beautiful service, from start to finish. I was also very proud of my kids for their sensitivity and reverent behavior.
After the memorial service, we all went out to breakfast together before heading back. We stopped at the Murrays' house to drop off a leaf-blower we didn't need anymore. Ryan and Connor demonstrated its usefulness for the little ones, who thought it was the coolest toy ever.
On Wednesday, Ryan had to drive home to California to take care of some things at work, but flew back up for the Saturday luncheon with the Speisers. In the meantime, the rest of us just enjoyed being together in Utah for a few days. The kids went on rhino rides with Grandma, we visited a pumpkin patch, and made "stone soup" from the recipe in the Grandma's storybook.
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| Ryan loves making kids do chores. |
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| Helping Clean Out Daddy's Car |
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| Covering Connor with Corn |
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| Five Years Earlier: Covering Connor in 2012 |
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| Evan really wanted to make "stone soup" at Grandma's house. |
We had a very nice lunch with Bob and Paige Speiser at Oasis Cafe in Salt Lake (Doctor Speiser thought it did a good job of capturing the old spirit of the Salt Lake Roasting Company, where he and Chuck used to socialize and work on papers.) He and his wife wanted the opportunity to visit with Mom, and to share stories and thoughts about Chuck.
The next day, Sunday, we left before sunrise and drove home to California.
The next day, Sunday, we left before sunrise and drove home to California.
Charles Neal Walter
May 11, 1941 - October 19, 2017
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