Funeral, Burial, and Slideshow

The funeral was beautiful. Laura's best friend sang, which was so moving, and the message was wonderful. I think Daddy would have liked it.

I couldn't believe how many people came to the graveside service. I was in the limo with Mom, Grandma, and my four siblings, and every time I looked behind us, I couldn't even see the end of the procession. The drive from the church to the gravesite is a few miles, and it once again made me proud to be a Southerner, with our manners and traditions. 95% of people still pull over for funeral processions, and we passed a group of utility workers who all removed their hard hats out of respect. It was lovely.

There must have been 70 people at the graveside, and the day was just beautiful, although a bit on the windy side. For February, though, the temperature was very mild.

After the graveside service, most of us went to change clothes, and then we all met back at Laura's church for the traditional post-funeral meal (you know how it is in the South: people die; we cook.). It was a really nice time of fellowship for our family and close friends.

It was at Laura's church that I found out my Uncle Wayne had been sick all night the previous evening. I had no idea at the funeral, but I wasn't exactly focused on anything but Daddy. He apparently came down with some sort of tummy bug, and then...they started dropping like flies. Talk about adding insult to injury! A good number of the out-of-towners came down with it, and I can't imagine anything worse than having to travel like that! How awful! Uncle Wayne and his crew left yesterday morning, with a 16-hour drive back to Texas ahead of them, and I can only hope that all of the rest of them made it without getting ill.

Many of you have asked about the tribute slideshow that Mark made for Daddy's services. We will still make DVDs for anyone who wants them (and he still intends to add quite a bit to it--other photos, as well as some video taken over the years), but the version from the visitation and funeral is available here, for those who would like to view it online.