Grandma Beulah's Funeral

Kendall's grandma passed away last week and we made the decision to make a quick trip to Iowa for the funeral. I was so glad that the boys and I went along. It was a meaningful family time.

Here Grandpa Henry looks at the photo display in memory of Grandma.


The pallbearers- The 6 grandsons that were able to be there. Unfortunately, the other 2 are living overseas and couldn't be there, though they really wanted to.


4 of the great-grandsons.


The cousins share a solemn moment as they watch the casket being lowered into the ground.




It was good for the boys to be at the funeral and burial. When they heard that Great Grandma Beulah was very sick and would probably die soon, Eli wanted to see her again. So they wrote her an e-mail and Nana read it to her. Nana reported back that Great Grandma enjoyed their letter.

Eli and Evan have been to only one funeral and I don't think they viewed the body there. So this was a new experience for them. Hours after Beulah passed away, Eli said, "I wonder if she's partying [in heaven]. No, she's probably still getting used to it." Later, he asked me if we would be going to the funeral. I overheard Evan say, "I hope not. It's just like church except you don't praise God." But I hope they found this funeral more meaningful.

We tried to talk to them about things ahead of time, but apparently missed some details. For example, Evan was expecting the body "just be bones" and he expressed his surprise that "a dead person had clothes on."

Beulah was buried close to the grave of her 3-year old son, Myron. I mentioned to Eli how great it must have been for Great Grandma to finally see her little son after so many years apart. That seemed to make an impression. After the burial, Eli admitted that he felt like crying after his Hero Cousin, Cameron, said that he did.

I'm proud of my kids. I'm so glad they got to experience this way of saying goodbye within the safety of their beloved extended family. They had Nana and Papa there to view the body with and when they wanted to help shovel dirt over the grave, Dad was with them.

Also, I learned more about Grandma Beulah and her life. I went away from the sharing time and funeral feeling challenged and blessed. At the burial, I felt such a sense of gratitude to Beulah for raising a good son, who also raised a good son, who is in the process of raising 2 good sons. Thank you, Grandma.