A Funeral for Uncle Greg

Death is always hard, not matter the situation. My Uncle Greg was diagnosed with ALS, otherwise known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, back in May of '09 (I believe it was May.) From what I understand ALS is a disease that affects the neurons that control muscles. Over time your body looses control over your muscles, including the heart and lungs, and this is the final cause of death. We stopped by and saw him the first of February and honestly he looked better than I thought he would. I'm sure this was due to all the info I was getting from people, the image in my head was way exaggerated. He was definitely not what he used to be and I could tell he was in pain, but I was surprised at how alert he was. His brain was working fine, it was just his body that wasn't. It was so sad. I'm very grateful I got the opportunity to see him one last time and that my kids were able to see him too. He was a wonderful man and he'll be missed by many.

This is Chris and Andy (son-in-law and granddaughter) playing a song at the funeral. They are very talented and did such an amazing job.

Uncle Greg died on February 24th and his funeral was held in Salt Lake on March 5th. This also happened to be Sarah Kate's birthday so we had to do a little changing of our plans in order to attend the service. We left the house around 7:30 in the morning on Friday the 5th in order to make the service that began at 11:00. I was impressed we were able to get everyone ready and out of the house that early. It's a good thing we did because we arrive just minutes before it started. My Uncle Greg was very liked and had many, many friends. All of which seemed to be at the funeral. We had to squeeze our way in the church, cutting in line in front of people, in order to make it to the family prayer. Sadly, right before we got there they closed the door and we missed it. After the prayer the family headed to the front for the funeral. As I said there weren't many seats left and we decided to stay in the back where the prayer had been. We could still hear, most of the time, and the kids were able to move around a little. I think it was a wise choice. Sometimes you have to make 'sacrifices' when you have kids. The service was very nice and the parts I heard were beautiful.

My Aunt Paula with her son Jared and daughter Kelli. They're from California and it's been years since I've seen them.

The girl cousins (minus Megan.) Sometimes I find it hard to believe we're all grown up.

The kids.

Sarah Kate, Maddi, Andie, Jackson, Hannah, and Logan (I'm sure Ben and Gracie are around somewhere)

After the funeral there was a luncheon at the church and then we all went to Aunt Val's for a visit. It was so nice to see so many family members, some whom I haven't seen since my Grandma died when Ben was a baby. I loved visiting, catching up, and watching my kids play with distant cousins they barely knew. It's sad that it had to be a funeral that brought us all together.

Aunt Val with daughter Becky.

Uncle Greg's other daughter Jenny with her husband Chris.

My heart and prayers go out to Aunt Val, daughters Jenny and Becky and their families. I'm sure the loss of a loved one that close is such a hard thing to take. I'm happy Uncle Greg is at peace now and is no longer in pain. That is definitely a blessing.