Uncle Dave's funeral

December 14th - we went to Uncle Dave's funeral in Cloverdale. Uncle Dave was the first of my Grandma's siblings to pass away, and is just younger than Grandma. We were sad to hear the news. It also was, for me, a bit of a reminder of mortality and that none of us is getting any younger. 

Luckily, one of the plusses of living in Salem is that we are quite a bit closer to Cloverdale (and the coast north of Newport). It took less than an hour and a half to get there! One of the good things about family funerals is that we kind of turn them into family reunions. Maybe that sounds bad, but it's true. It was really nice to see everyone. As I get older, I have been able to pay more attention to who people are and how we are related. There are still people that I don't really know how we are related…. sometimes I give blank stares or try to pretend I know someone, but my family is so big, it is hard sometimes! So, this was a great refresher and chance to meet some new people. 

 The ceremony was short and sweet, but very nice. I love the little church in Cloverdale. It is very small, but very intricately decorated compared to a lot of larger churches.

 Love them.

 Hurliman… it's kind of a big deal. 

 There are two Hurliman windows in this church.

 Cloverdale is always so green. I would like to live in a small town, I think. 

 We made it up to the cemetery just in time for the last part of the graveside ceremony….

 Some of the women in the family! We got another with London and myself, but honestly, the bags under my eyes in all the pictures this day could hold small amounts of groceries, so I have kindly omitted those pictures. 

 I asked Grandma and Grandpa if I could take some pictures of them. They were married in this church 54 years ago! We tried some inside, but it was a little dark. The flash washed everything out, and the natural light photos were a bit blurry. This is my favorite from inside.

 And here is one from outside. They still look good, 54 years later! 

 Henri tried to take a few more, and this one turned out cute too! 

Rest in peace, Great Uncle Dave…. 

Actually, what would be fun is to add one or two of my Grandma's stories from their childhood. Everyone told stories about Uncle Dave at the reception. I thought that was really a nice way to remember him. 

So, here they are:

Joanne and the glass

Joanne, Ben and Dave were playing outside one day. They were racing around the house and noticed a pile of glass panes. Ben and Joanne thought it would be fun to play on it. They persuaded Dave that it would be okay, and none of the glass would get broken when he told them that “mommy’s going to get mad.” They played on the glass, but unfortunately, the panes broke after a while. Joanne made Dave promise not to tell their mother, because they didn’t want to get in trouble again after their attic adventure (a different story). They played away from the glass for a little while so they wouldn’t be suspected. When they walked inside, Dave said to their mother, “We didn’t break that glass in the back. We really didn’t.” He followed Ben and Joanne into a different room. Before he could close the door, their mother came in and brought them outside, around the house to the glass panes. When she saw them broken, she gave them all spankings. And again, Ben, Joanne and Dave learned from their mistakes and never did that again.

Bears in the Yard

Mrs. Hurliman was starting spring cleaning, and noticed that the bear rug needed to be aired out. She dragged it out into the front yard, and set it over a stump, then went inside and started another job. An hour or so later, Ben and Joanne peeked out the window and saw the bear rug. At first, they thought it was a bear, but then realized that it wasn’t real. They decided to play a trick on Dave, who was always gullible. Running to find him, they pulled him over to the window. “Look out there, Dave!” they excitedly said, trying to sound scared. “It’s a bear!” he whispered, genuinely scared. Ben winked at Joanne; their plan was going perfectly. Suddenly a slight breeze moved the bear. “Look! It’s moving!” Dave screamed, and Ben and Joanne turned to look. It WAS real! They all ran screaming to their mother, who laughed, and bravely went outside to show them that it was just a rug. Dave breathed a sigh of relief, and Ben and Joanne felt really dumb for thinking even for an instant that the bear was real. They never did THAT again.