Wednesday morning we attended a mass at St. Joseph's Church in Ogden set up by my mom's brothers. Nearly all members of her family who have died have had services there, including our Great Grandma Sofia, who my mom would take us up to see every sunday when we were little and our Great Aunt Tony, who was like a grandmother to us since our own grandmother passed away when my mom was about 24 years old and before any of us kids were even a thought. The service was so wonderful.
Father Ken had spent some time with our Uncle Hernan speaking about my mom and the kind of person she was. When he spoke it was like he knew her. I know that he changed the format a little because we have been to several other Catholic funerals before. Our mother was kind of the rebel in the family, being the only one to convert to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints when she was growing up. Father Ken was absolutely respectful of that fact, explaining that our faiths are different but we are all Christians and we all have the same Heavenly Father. He knew that she strived to help us develop our talents and asked us to demonstrate by having us sing a song in front of the congregation. We sang "Families Can Be Together Forever". We were very comforted by his words and want to thank him for the beautiful job he did. Thank you Father Ken.
Thursday night we held a viewing at Valley View Memorial Home in West Valley. The viewing was supposed to start at 7:00 pm and go until 9:00 pm, but a few people started coming early while we were setting things up. At 7:00 the building started to get crowded. There was a line all the way from the room we were in, down the hall and out the front doors. We met the last visitor at about 10:00 pm. It is a blessing to know all the lives our mother touched and meet all the people she influenced. We had no idea.
Friday were the funeral services at our ward meeting house in Magna. It started with our wonderful Grandma Dixie sharing her talented voice by singing "The Lord's Prayer". She is a very talented opera singer. Next, Steve Mellen, a member of her ward and long-time family friend, spoke about our mother being in a paradise, waiting until we can see her again. Our Uncle Dee Robbins, spoke next. He explained the influence she had on the world around her and described her as being either a "gentle breeze" or at times a "raging storm". Everyone got a kick out of that because everyone who knows her knows it is exactly true! You don't mess with my momma! Our Uncle David Robbins played a beautiful medly on the organ before my brother, Jaron, spoke.
Jaron first explained his haircut. He had gone and had it cut into a mohawk the day before her passing and was planning on taunting her with it when he saw her on Sunday. We were supposed to have dinner at her house for his birthday. Jaron talked about some of our memories with her. At his soccer games she would yell, "Go, Green, go!" until some one asked her, "What do you have against the latino's on the team?" It was then realized that most of the team wasn't understanding that she was shouting for their colored jerseys, but cheering, "Go, gringo!" She would go to Scott's Jiu Jitsu tournaments and try to intimidate his opponents with, "Don't hurt my baby!" She would always be at our dance and cheer performances early so she could find a spot near a power outlet. Our video camera had a crappy battery so she had to stay plugged into the wall to record our performances. We left the church to take her to her resting place. Scott played the guitar and sang the only song he knew, "Back Here" by BB Mac, just so she could see one of her kids perform. Scotty said the prayer to dedicate the grave. We waited there until it was OK to say goodbye and called to grounds crew to lower the casket.
Father Ken had spent some time with our Uncle Hernan speaking about my mom and the kind of person she was. When he spoke it was like he knew her. I know that he changed the format a little because we have been to several other Catholic funerals before. Our mother was kind of the rebel in the family, being the only one to convert to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints when she was growing up. Father Ken was absolutely respectful of that fact, explaining that our faiths are different but we are all Christians and we all have the same Heavenly Father. He knew that she strived to help us develop our talents and asked us to demonstrate by having us sing a song in front of the congregation. We sang "Families Can Be Together Forever". We were very comforted by his words and want to thank him for the beautiful job he did. Thank you Father Ken.
Thursday night we held a viewing at Valley View Memorial Home in West Valley. The viewing was supposed to start at 7:00 pm and go until 9:00 pm, but a few people started coming early while we were setting things up. At 7:00 the building started to get crowded. There was a line all the way from the room we were in, down the hall and out the front doors. We met the last visitor at about 10:00 pm. It is a blessing to know all the lives our mother touched and meet all the people she influenced. We had no idea.
Friday were the funeral services at our ward meeting house in Magna. It started with our wonderful Grandma Dixie sharing her talented voice by singing "The Lord's Prayer". She is a very talented opera singer. Next, Steve Mellen, a member of her ward and long-time family friend, spoke about our mother being in a paradise, waiting until we can see her again. Our Uncle Dee Robbins, spoke next. He explained the influence she had on the world around her and described her as being either a "gentle breeze" or at times a "raging storm". Everyone got a kick out of that because everyone who knows her knows it is exactly true! You don't mess with my momma! Our Uncle David Robbins played a beautiful medly on the organ before my brother, Jaron, spoke.
Jaron first explained his haircut. He had gone and had it cut into a mohawk the day before her passing and was planning on taunting her with it when he saw her on Sunday. We were supposed to have dinner at her house for his birthday. Jaron talked about some of our memories with her. At his soccer games she would yell, "Go, Green, go!" until some one asked her, "What do you have against the latino's on the team?" It was then realized that most of the team wasn't understanding that she was shouting for their colored jerseys, but cheering, "Go, gringo!" She would go to Scott's Jiu Jitsu tournaments and try to intimidate his opponents with, "Don't hurt my baby!" She would always be at our dance and cheer performances early so she could find a spot near a power outlet. Our video camera had a crappy battery so she had to stay plugged into the wall to record our performances. We left the church to take her to her resting place. Scott played the guitar and sang the only song he knew, "Back Here" by BB Mac, just so she could see one of her kids perform. Scotty said the prayer to dedicate the grave. We waited there until it was OK to say goodbye and called to grounds crew to lower the casket.
The day was so beautiful. I'm sure she loved all of it.
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