My cousin Bobby wrote this for an english assignment in college, and through my family's "grapevine" I received a copy. His words brought back so much of the emotions the family went through when my grandfather died, and how we all gathered for his memorial, that I just had to, with Bobby's permission, add this to my homepage. I hope that you can see just what I saw in his words.

I have been very fortunate in my life that I have not had to attend many funerals. So when I entered the chapel I was treading on very unfamiliar territory. I came in the side door with the rest of the family, trying desperately not to make eye contact with anyone. My fear of showing emotion in public was now becoming a griping reality and seeing a familiar face was sure to make me a blubbering fool. The family took up the front three rows and we all nestled in close to our loved ones.

Sunday mornings are always set aside for church, so when we sat there I couldn’t figure out why it now seemed so immense. The glass windows on both sides stretched high to the ceilings. Every drop of sunlight poured through and embraced all of us like a warm blanket on a newborn baby. The colors sliced through the finely cut glass and formed delicate prisms all around us. This was such a sad occasion, but happiness and life danced all through the pews as we sat with our heads bowed.

The flowers all around us were glowing with brilliance. The bright mixture of colors reached out to us as if they were picked minutes earlier. I never realized how many colors could come together in such spectacular harmony. The array of fragrances drifted through the pews introducing spring memories even in January.

I was perfectly content to sit with my personal thoughts of my grandfather, so when the soft alto voice in back began to sing an old familiar hymn my heart suddenly felt heavy. The back of my throat was throbbing from the intense pain of suppressing a tear. I couldn’t imagine joining the rest of the family in four verses of "Amazing Grace". With each verse they sang the church swelled with love for my grandfather.

After the songs and eulogies were finished, it was time for the family to file out of the church. Sobs and sniffles rose all around us making composure now impossible. Sensing my awkwardness, my wife squeezed my arm and led me down the long aisle to the back of the church. Seeing the faces of all the lives my grandfather had touched made this day a lot less painful.