Eddie
Eddie's burial was yesterday afternoon. How can you actually say it was
a beautiful day for a funeral? On the way from the church to the
graveyard, it is woods on both sides with huge pine and cedar trees. We
had just had a big snowfall the day before and yesterday it was a mild
day, little overcast, and the very heavy snow-laden trees on the road to
the cemetary was absolutely beautiful! You only see that on Xmas
cards!!! It looked like a fairyland. Everyone noticed it and spoke of
it. Here we have so much wind that the snow rarely sticks to the trees.
But this snow fall was thick and heavy and beautiful, as I said.
To make it even more poignant, at the moment of the burial, a very
light sprinkling of snow flakes began to fall, just softy, lazily, not
and stopped just as we were getting ready to leave. There was a
feeling of peace. Odd...
I usually hate the burial part of a funeral mostly
avoiding it at all costs, or stay in the background or in the car. This one,
on top of the utter sadness of it, left us all with a little bit of awe.
Bonnie and Keith (the parents) somehow kept their composure for the most part. Barry,
their youngest son, dressed in his police uniform looking very
impressive and dignified, as stoic as they come, slow-marched Eddie's
ashes to the grave site, with a smart salute and brisk turn after he laid
down the Urn. Keith, who has just had his dialysis that morning clasped
Bonnies shoulder as much to steady himself as to console her. It was
amazing as everyone was dreading this expecting Keith to either break
down or collapse. He is very ill, and he is a very, very sensitive man and cannot hold back
his feelings as we had seen from past funerals, especially Ken's. Had he
lost it, so would we all.
Afterwards we went back to their place, where their two neighbours put
on an amazing buffet all by themselves - done all the cooking, etc.
There were many military officers there as Eddie and Bonnie both worked
at Shearwater Officer's Mess and also Eddie played Santa for many years
at their annual Xmas Party. They held a Ceremony honoring him for this
at the hospital two days before he passed away, and he was aware that
they were there. It was held in the Family Room but Eddie was too ill to
even have his bed pushed in.
Anyway, this part is over and now is the Visitation on Friday and Church
Ceremony on Saturday afternoon, backwards because of trying to
accommodate some family members who flew in.
------
a beautiful day for a funeral? On the way from the church to the
graveyard, it is woods on both sides with huge pine and cedar trees. We
had just had a big snowfall the day before and yesterday it was a mild
day, little overcast, and the very heavy snow-laden trees on the road to
the cemetary was absolutely beautiful! You only see that on Xmas
cards!!! It looked like a fairyland. Everyone noticed it and spoke of
it. Here we have so much wind that the snow rarely sticks to the trees.
But this snow fall was thick and heavy and beautiful, as I said.
To make it even more poignant, at the moment of the burial, a very
light sprinkling of snow flakes began to fall, just softy, lazily, not
and stopped just as we were getting ready to leave. There was a
feeling of peace. Odd...
I usually hate the burial part of a funeral mostly
avoiding it at all costs, or stay in the background or in the car. This one,
on top of the utter sadness of it, left us all with a little bit of awe.
Bonnie and Keith (the parents) somehow kept their composure for the most part. Barry,
their youngest son, dressed in his police uniform looking very
impressive and dignified, as stoic as they come, slow-marched Eddie's
ashes to the grave site, with a smart salute and brisk turn after he laid
down the Urn. Keith, who has just had his dialysis that morning clasped
Bonnies shoulder as much to steady himself as to console her. It was
amazing as everyone was dreading this expecting Keith to either break
down or collapse. He is very ill, and he is a very, very sensitive man and cannot hold back
his feelings as we had seen from past funerals, especially Ken's. Had he
lost it, so would we all.
Afterwards we went back to their place, where their two neighbours put
on an amazing buffet all by themselves - done all the cooking, etc.
There were many military officers there as Eddie and Bonnie both worked
at Shearwater Officer's Mess and also Eddie played Santa for many years
at their annual Xmas Party. They held a Ceremony honoring him for this
at the hospital two days before he passed away, and he was aware that
they were there. It was held in the Family Room but Eddie was too ill to
even have his bed pushed in.
Anyway, this part is over and now is the Visitation on Friday and Church
Ceremony on Saturday afternoon, backwards because of trying to
accommodate some family members who flew in.
------