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memorial for my Uncle Bob
Oct. 11th, 2009 11:24 pmMy uncle Bob died on September 7th. His memorial service was this Saturday, October 10th, down in Springfield, Virginia.
I flew down to D.C. on Friday morning, into Reagan National airport. I met Ardis, Bob's cousin Judy, and Judy's husband Jack, and we were all picked up by Bob's brother, Bruce. Ardis and I checked into our hotel; after an hour or so, my parents and sister also arrived, and we went over to Jan and Bob's house for a family dinner.
The memorial was at 10:30am in Springfield Christian Church. Family sat in the center pews, with friends to the right and left. Bob's ashes were on a table up front, in a wooden urn made by my cousin Brian.
We opened with a prayer and the hymn "Come and Find the Quiet Center." Then we moved on to remembrances: by my dad, by Bob's cousin Dan, by three of Bob's Census Bureau coworkers, and by a friend from Jan and Bob's ski club; a few family members also spoke briefly. Then there was a musical solo followed by the Lord's Prayer. We closed by singing "Amazing Grace" and reciting the 23rd Psalm.
I held it together through most of the service, and even laughed at several points in the remembrances. It was a good service. Bob would have liked it. He always loved jokes. But "Amazing Grace" just broke me. We only sang two verses -- the first and fourth -- and I could not sing more than about five notes once I hit the halfway point of the first verse. I was crying too hard.
After the service, there was a reception in the fellowship room, prepared by some church members who take that sort of thing as their fellowship ministry. That petered out around 3:30pm, after which we went back to our hotels to change into less formal clothes. Then family and some close friends regathered at Jan's house for something that was part family reunion, part sharing of memories, part haphazard dinner, and part... well, almost a party, in Bob's honor.
We took photographs for him. Uncle Bob loved taking photographs. He loved parties. He loved family.
He should have been there.
( This is the obituary from the memorial's order of service... )
I flew down to D.C. on Friday morning, into Reagan National airport. I met Ardis, Bob's cousin Judy, and Judy's husband Jack, and we were all picked up by Bob's brother, Bruce. Ardis and I checked into our hotel; after an hour or so, my parents and sister also arrived, and we went over to Jan and Bob's house for a family dinner.
The memorial was at 10:30am in Springfield Christian Church. Family sat in the center pews, with friends to the right and left. Bob's ashes were on a table up front, in a wooden urn made by my cousin Brian.
We opened with a prayer and the hymn "Come and Find the Quiet Center." Then we moved on to remembrances: by my dad, by Bob's cousin Dan, by three of Bob's Census Bureau coworkers, and by a friend from Jan and Bob's ski club; a few family members also spoke briefly. Then there was a musical solo followed by the Lord's Prayer. We closed by singing "Amazing Grace" and reciting the 23rd Psalm.
I held it together through most of the service, and even laughed at several points in the remembrances. It was a good service. Bob would have liked it. He always loved jokes. But "Amazing Grace" just broke me. We only sang two verses -- the first and fourth -- and I could not sing more than about five notes once I hit the halfway point of the first verse. I was crying too hard.
After the service, there was a reception in the fellowship room, prepared by some church members who take that sort of thing as their fellowship ministry. That petered out around 3:30pm, after which we went back to our hotels to change into less formal clothes. Then family and some close friends regathered at Jan's house for something that was part family reunion, part sharing of memories, part haphazard dinner, and part... well, almost a party, in Bob's honor.
We took photographs for him. Uncle Bob loved taking photographs. He loved parties. He loved family.
He should have been there.
( This is the obituary from the memorial's order of service... )
