George's Funeral

At 4:25 a.m. on February 28, 2008, Eric's grandpa (Pop) passed away. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's not long after Eric and I started dating. The whole of my relationship with Eric, I have not seen George as he was prior to this terrible diagnosis.
Eric and I have joked that we are Romeo and Juliet in a Lisonbee and Irwin saga. Irwin Trucking competed for many of the same jobs as did Lisonbee Trucking (when it was around). When Eric and I first started dating, each of our families reacted the same way when we mentioned our last names: "Irwin! as in Irwin Trucking!?" "Lisonbee, as in Lisonbee trucking!?"
After a week of planning and travel arranging, the funeral was held on Friday (3/7/08) - it was cold and brisk, yet sunny and bright. George was burried at Camp Williams (which is a forever long drive out of Salt Lake).
It sounds silly, and maybe odd, but I was excited to see a military honors funeral - I'd never seen one (except on TV). Eric's cousins: Dusty and Darrell (who are in the Marines) and Ryan (who is in the Navy) were dressed in their formal uniforms and looked very nice.
Ryan's remarks at the funeral were most touching. He talked about George's early life and how rough it was. What stuck me most (and by the gasps and sobs in the audience, I wasn't alone) was what most of us want: for our parents to be proud of what we've become. Ryan spoke of George's concern for making his father proud.

At the interment, I was touched as taps was played, the flag was folded and the flags were presented to George's children. I had held it together pretty well until I saw Eric - he presented the flag to his dad and had seen the look in his dad's eyes and he (Eric) faltered and it broke my heart. Just as it was coming to an end, the three trucks from Irwin Trucking that had come to Camp Williams all honked their horns as a final salute and farewell to George.
I found that I was deeply touched by the family which claims little emotions as they expressed their own love and honor to their father and grandfather.