Death and Life

I went to the funeral for my great-uncle this week.

Although death is a sad time for those left behind, we celebrated his 92 years of life that day. We came from different cities… St. Joseph, Overland Park, Chapman, Abilene, Wichita, Hennessey, Justin… I'm sure there were more that I didn't know.

I made the trip alone as Jim had to work this week. As I was driving to Kansas from Texas on Monday, a huge storm front was moving across the sky. It was beautiful. And the sky remained beautiful, no matter the condition, the whole time I was there.

 

 

Driving from Wichita to Herington on Tuesday morning, I appreciated the beauty of Kansas. It's been almost 20 years since Jim and I moved away, going on our own life adventures. But I am always fascinated by the magnificence of the plains.

 

 


 
  

My brother spoke during the ceremony, and I learned some things that I didn’t know about Ted. I knew he was a Veteran, but I didn’t know the particulars.

“Ted served in the United States Army with the 348^th Engineers and was a World War 11 veteran, involved in the Battle of the Bulge and D-Day. One of the highlights of his later years was visiting Washington, D.C. and the World War II Memorial with the Kansas Honor Flight.”

I was already proud of him, and this information was a great tribute to him and his service. I also didn’t know he came from such a large family of 8 brothers and sisters. Some of them were at the funeral. You would think that after knowing Ted my whole almost-48 years of life, I would have known them. But I didn’t.

Some soldiers from Fort Riley in Junction City came to the cemetery. They saluted while Taps played. They folded the flag and gave it to Ted’s only son. 

 

 

 

 

 

Afterwards, we walked around and looked at the headstones of our relatives who were buried there. There is something to be said about knowing where you came from.

I keep telling everyone they need to write a book about their lives. Information sometimes gets lost in translation and time. I don't want to forget what I've learned about my great-uncle and the family he comes from. 

Families are intricately woven together in a beautiful tapestry, and it would be shame for one part to be forgotten.