(no subject)

[camwyn]

well, yesterday was Grandpa's funeral; the Mass was at St. Francis of Assissi church, his home parish for as long as I knew him (except when he retired to Florida). The burial itself was at Gates of Heaven Archdiocesan Cemetary in Valhalla, NY. (For those of you who're Asatru, the name was essentially chosen by a postmaster's wife in the late 1800s. She had a thing for Wagner and for Norse legends, and the area was known for its cemetaries. I only wish I was kidding.) My second cousin, a Jesuit priest, did the Mass and the graveside service. There was a colour guard there from the local military unit, and my grandmother was presented with the flag that covered Grandpa's casket from the church to the cemetary.

Aside from a few tears during one of the hymns (I think it was 'On Eagle's Wings'), the only time I cried was when the bugler played 'Taps'...

Grandpa is free now, and I'm glad of it. I'll miss him. I expect I always will. But I've spent two years praying for him to be released from an incurable illness, and now it's finally happened.

Like I said last time- godspeed, Grandpa.

Comments

[derien.livejournal.com]

<3

[zakkati.livejournal.com]

((hugs))

X

[thekit.livejournal.com]

hugs

which branch did he serve in?

[camwyn]

U. S. Army Air Corps- the Air Force didn't exist as a separate entity at the time. Served nine months in the States, two years in Europe, discharged on 13 November 1945 at Fort Dix, NJ. He was a poison-gas handler and a translator.

[filkerdave.livejournal.com]

*hugs*

[drharper.livejournal.com]

*hugs*

[ymfaery]

My (belated) condolences on your loss.

[dormouse-in-tea.livejournal.com]

Love you, hon.

[batyatoon]

*hugs*

[silveraspen]

*hugs*

It's hard to lose those we love, but sometimes it's easier when they're in a state such as you described.

My thoughts are with you.

[lwood.livejournal.com]

*hugs*

-- Lorrie

[jerusha.livejournal.com]

My thoughts are with you and your family.

Maybe I'll stumble across his grave at some point - my grandmother and the neighbor-who-was-a-surrogate-grandmother are both buried there, as well as other members of my extended family.