8-Dad's Funeral

At the funeral parlor on the morning of the funeral--look at all those flowers:


The casket has a "Memory Drawer" so you're able to put in pictures and notes. Here are a bunch of paintings and drawings and notes from K and M to Vavo. The painting is one from K that's been hanging in Vavo's room to cheer him up. The cute ink drawing is from M. The postits are additional pictures from the kids--stuff he likes (bananas, etc.) and pictures of K playing checkers with Vavo, etc.

The pallbearers exiting the funeral parlor to go to church for the funeral:

After the funeral . . . our view from the Limo of the pallbearers getting to the graveside:
The pallbearers (this still doesn't seem real, for the record): Jim, Brother Silvia, Bob (my cousin), Steve (my cousin), Manny, and my cousin Johnny. I don't know why/how I didn't get a picture of my brother dedicating the grave. He's to the left outside of the picture:

We've helped the kids place their "I love you, Vavo" tennis balls on the grave.

How can this be real?

Can you see me hugging my Mom?

After the services at the restaurant--here are my parents' 7 grandkids:

My Dad's sister Alda (left) and my Dad's brother (drinking coffee) and his wife and son:

George and good friends my parents made at a restaurant--this man came up and told me that as a father, he thought that my tribute to my Dad was one of the most beautiful tributes he's ever heard and that my Dad is a wonderful man:

That table in the distance is full of my Mom's former coworkers--one of them, Paula, said to me that my Dad really does always have a smile and a twinkle in his eyes (I miss that a lot):

L-R, Davey, my cousin Johnny, Alfred, Tia Noemia, Steve, Cousin "Little" Johnny:

That's Glorinha and her mother walking behind my Mom and me. Glorinha is my Mom's cousin (her mom and my Mom's mom are sisters) and Glorinha has a son who is 1 day older than I am (Peter)--he and I are 2nd cousins. Glorinha's Mom (so my great aunt-Tia Lourdes) died a couple of days before my Dad died. She always doted on my father, so we're sure she was his travelling companion to heaven.

Another shot of the extended family on my Mom's side--next to Little Johnny are Tia Artemisia and Uncle Joe and there's Kathy next to Davey.

More cousins (everyone's a cousin) visiting our table:

Louis, Alda, and me:

Cousins, Paul (cousin and funeral director), and Tia Alda

Poor M got sick that day. :( You know it's rough when you're sleeping on the restaurant floor. :(

K and cousin Anna--cute friends!