Grandpa Orvel

Last Tuesday, April 26th, Tony's grandfather Orvel passed away at the age of 81.  He has battled many different kinds of cancers and has survived several heart attacks. Some of Tony's family went down to visit on Easter and he wasn't feeling good but wanted to wait for them to leave before he would go to the hospital.  They admitted him later that night and on Tuesday morning (almost everyone I know that has died has died on a Tuesday) we got the call that he would not make it through the day.  I was working that day so I felt bad that I couldn't be there to comfort Tony, but he and his brothers drove down to Gunnison where Orvel was at and were with him when he passed away. 

I had to explain to Macie that Grandpa Orvel had died.  We've already kind of been through the death talk when we lost Bear (our dog) last year, but it's different when it's a person.  On Easter I had a neat conversation with her about the death of Christ as well as the resurrection & I used a glove to show her that when people die their spirits leave their body and even though the body is dead they are still alive in spirit.  When I told her what happened she said she was sad and missed him, but said he is in Heaven with Bear and Pennie (my aunt). We loved Grandpa Orvel and will miss him very much.  No matter how old a person is or how "prepared" you are for them to die sooner than later, it's still never easy to say goodbye.  I am so thankful for the knowledge that we have of Eternal Life, otherwise I'm not sure how we would ever get through difficult times like these.

Grandpa Orvel & Grandma Joyce with Pax...we went down there in January for the day...that was the last time we saw him.

One of Grandpa's greatest joys was fishing...we went down there the end of last summer and were able to go fishing with him one last time.

Grandma & Grandpa's 60th wedding anniversary...they made it to their 61st anniversary last summer.



Grandpa & Grandma meeting Pax for the first time last August.



Grandpa with Macie & Savannah on his 4-wheeler, another thing he loved!

Tony, Me & Bear with Grandpa & Grandma (our first year of marriage)

Grandpa with our nephew Kaden

Grandpa & Grandma with Macie on her blessing day.



Yesterday, Saturday April 30th, we drove down to Emery (3 hrs both ways) for the viewing and funeral.  I always struggle with viewings...I think I want a closed casket personally.  I tried to get Macie's feelings about it and explain that it was just grandpa's body "sleeping" but that his spirit was in Heaven.  She didn't really question that at all and seemed to understand.  She had drawn a picture of Grandpa Orvel in Heaven with Bear & Pennie...she and all of the kids each put a rose and their letter/drawing in the casket with him.  She was really excited to give it to him.  I think closing the casket and saying goodbye to him (his body) for the last time was one of the hardest moments. 
The funeral was really nice.  After the obituary reading Dixie (Tony's mom) gave a nice talk.  I had to walk out of the chapel with Paxton because he was being crazy and loud, so I listened to the rest of the funeral from there.  I did go back in after her talk because all of the grandkids and great-grandkids sang "I Am a Child of God" but then I walked out again.  Tony's uncle Var gave his talk which I unfortunately didn't hear much of (Tony told me some of the stories that he told later on), then a few people sang "Love Me" (a great Collin Raye song).  We all went to the graveside and had a prayer there.  Paxton was so exhausted that he fell asleep in the 1 minute drive to the cemetary so we rolled the windows down and left him in there for that service which was a nice break (and don't worry, we were parked just feet away from the graveside so we could hear/see him!) Then we went back to the church and ate some lunch and talked to everyone.  It was a long, emotional day and by the time we got home (and stopped by one of my best friend's 30th surprise party) we were exhausted!

A song that I really love that is by Toby Keith says "I'm not crying 'cause I feel so sorry for ya, I'm crying for me"  I think it really sums up the way people feel at funerals.  We all know that Grandpa is okay and finally healthy in Heaven.  We aren't crying because we're worried about him...we're crying because we miss him.  Looking at Grandma's face in that picture absolutely breaks my heart.  She married Orvel when she was only 17 years old and went straight from living at home with her parents to being with him.  She's never had to live alone in her whole life and she had such a hard time saying goodbye to her "sweetheart".  I can't imagine going home and sleeping in the room that you've shared with your spouse for that long and being able to sleep without them or living in an empty house with no one to take care of and no one to take care of you.  She's the one I am most worried about and I will pray for her everyday. 

We love you Grandpa Orvel...goodbye for now...until we meet again.