Saying Goodbye to Grandpa Brimhall

(Still wishing I had grabbed a program as I had planned to scan in.  If any family members have one I could borrow or if you wouldn't mind scanning and emailing, I would appreciate it.)

The funeral for Grandpa Lee Foster Brimhall was very nice.  The viewing was from 10 until 11 so we were able to get there and get everyone changed before the funeral.  I will tell you that I find viewings an interesting part of funerals.  I guess in a way it offers closure, a chance to see loved ones one last time, but people don't look the same once their spirits have departed.  Sometimes I think I would prefer just to remember them living than to see them after they have passed on.  (I know that's an option, just kind of curious how the tradition began.)

There were a lot of family members there.  My father-in-law's sisters did a fabulous job on the eulogy and life story.  It was fun to hear stories that I've heard before as well.  Having been married almost ten years now and having had the chance to actually meet Grandpa Brimhall, I really felt like one of the family.  (Which, on a side note, is the reason we were all there.   Otherwise, I would have stayed home with the kids and let James go by himself.  Trevy has no concept of a whisper and kept crying out for various things during the ceremony.  I felt so bad.  I'm hoping that Grandpa was looking down and laughing and glad his great-granddaughter was there and not annoyed that she was being so disrespectful.)

Two family members I had never before met (she is one of my father-in-law's first cousins, daughter of Lee's brother, Logan, and the man is her husband) helped me when it came time for the family to leave the chapel.  It had taken me by surprise when they asked for all the pall bearers to exit first and then the family to follow.  All the grandsons were listed as pall bearers so James left me with Timmy and Trevy.  A huge thanks to wonderful family.  They offered to carry the diaper bag and suction machine so I could carry Timmy and odds and ends.  Yvonne took Trevy, Grandma Brimhall (Ruth) had Landon and Bridgette and Daniel had Callie.

The graveside service was short and sweet.  Grandpa Brimhall was buried in the Arizona Pioneer Home Cemetary.  A nice luncheon was provided back at the church afterward and we owe another thank you to family members for helping out again, as we never would have had the chance to eat without them between losing Landon in the building, Timmy losing it in general (I think he's teething.  He had a hard time at Lisa's and then again during the ceremony.  He wouldn't take the bottle, but loved chewing on my finger.) and the girls needing multiple trips to the bathroom. 

There is a bittersweetness that comes with funerals when the loved one had been struggling.  I feel a sense of relief for Grandpa Brimhall, knowing that he is in a better place.  That he is no longer having to deal with the pains and sorrows that come with mortality.  However, I feel a sadness for Grandma Brimhall.  What an amazing woman.  I marvel that they have been married for over 70 years.  What a legacy!  But how hard it must be to have someone you love at your side for so long and then to one day wake up and have them no longer there.  I know she knows she will see Grandpa Brimhall again, but it still has to be hard to be the one left behind.  I hope she is able to find all the comfort she needs in the family still around here until the time comes that they are able to meet again.

Obituary