A Funeral

I've been meaning to post this for a while, but haven't been able to make it happen. Remember this post about my cousin Spencer? This post is about his funeral. I've been thinking about him a lot this weekend as it was Memorial Day, and even though Spencer didn't die in the service of his country, he did serve his country and was given military honors at his funeral. Not only was this weekend Memorial Day, but this last Sunday was May 26, 2013 - the day that he was going to be married to his fiance Sarah. Needless to day, he was greatly missed by everyone in our family this weekend. This is a hard post to write, but I hope that this small post will do justice to the love we have for Spencer.

The funeral was April 13, 2013 in Lyman, Wyoming. It was such a hard day but it was so good to see how many people came to support Spencer and his family. 

 

The service was sad, but it made me so grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The program was so typical of Spencer. One of his big things is that he believed everything should be spelled phonetically. So the program was spelled just for him. (Kunduckting, Preluude, Korister, Invokashon, Memereys.)

Not only was the program perfect for him, but everything about the whole day was perfect. No hearse - instead the casket was carried to the gravesite in my grandpa's old truck.  

 Military Honors at the graveside.

It was pretty cold and very windy. Lydia wasn't sure what was going on but she was a great girl anyway.  She tried to kick her blanket off once but then realized that she would be very cold if she tried that again. Sweet girl. 

Looking at these pictures make me cry. Especially the ones of the Rae brothers and their dad. And of my dear sweet Aunt Susan and Spencer's fiance Sarah. I don't know what to say, so I will let the pictures speak for themselves. 

 

It was so sad. So so sad. You can tell in the pictures below that my makeup has been all cried off. We came back for a family dinner at the church. It was such a blessing to know that so many people in the wards in Lyman care so much about my family. Spencer isn't from Lyman, but my grandparents and his Rae grandparents are. He loved it there and it was no surprise that is where he was buried. But he didn't have a ward - it was just people who saw the need and stepped up to take care of our family. They served over a hundred people delicious food as we all ate and talked about Spencer and visited with each other. I'm so grateful for those unnamed people and their service to my family.

I'm crying again as I write this post. I'm a crier. It's okay. I'm grateful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the blessings that it brings. It brings healing for broken hearts, answers to questions, forgiveness for sin. I'm grateful for an amazing family unit - full of support and love. I'm grateful that David was willing to make the sacrifices needed to make sure we were there to support my family. I'm grateful for so many things - but nothing more than the comfort of the Holy Ghost and the promises of Jesus Christ. 

Dearest Spencer, God be with you till we meet again.