Our unexpected trip to Corona


Den and I were sadly shocked at the passing of his brother in law, Randy.
We just got back from a quick trip to Corona (south of LA), for his funeral.

I was doing fine until I came in through the church doors and read about this dollar story:
They had been married over 37 years! 
I think the longer a couple is married, the harder it is to lose them. 


There were many stories on that table (a very lovely idea!), and these are just a few.
Dennis gave an excellent eulogy and here's my favorite part:

"Wendy shared with me something her Dad always did. 
Whenever he would send a letter, note, card, or email, he would end it with, 
"Always remember Rule #1." 

Rule #1 came about when she was about 8 or 9 years old. 
She apparently got in trouble for something she can no longer remember. 
Nor can she remember what the punishment was. 
She just remembered that he told her, "Always remember Rule #1." 
OK OK, Dad....so what is Rule #1?

He said Rule #1 is this, "No matter what...I will always love you."


The happy part of the 2 days was getting to be with 3 of Den's 4 children. 
Kim, Keith, and Kris. We were so sorry Kevin couldn't make it.
I almost didn't put this picture here because it does not do his children justice. 
All 3 of them are even more beautiful in person. 

I do love this picture of Kris with 2 of Randy and Debbie's grandchildren, 
Hailey and Lindsay.


 We then drove to Whittier where Randy was buried at Rose Hills, the largest cemetery in the world.

A sweet and sad day.

Kim and Kris had a 3:40 flight to catch from Ontario to Salt Lake City. 
Sounds easy enough, right? 
Well here is an brief list of what they went through:

After arriving at airport found out there was a 2 hour delay.
Then flew to Phoenix
Missed their connecting flight
Waited 2 1/2 more hours for next flight
Boarded plane
Plane starts moving.
Stops for 30 minutes, then says their brakes are faulty
Plane goes back to the terminal.
Fire alarm in terminal
Finally board another plane
New plane starts moving.
Announcement: faulty brakes (on this plane too!)
Back to terminal
Board a 3rd plane
Air conditioning overheats
Another delay
Finally arrive in Salt Lake City about 2am
Home to Logan at 4:30am!

Our drive home went well except for when we stopped to get gas in Castaic.
All the fuel pumps were busy with cars even waiting in line. 
The inside store was packed with lines 7 or 8 people long.

So I get out of the car just to walk around and I could feel people staring at me.
I thought, "Haven't they ever seen a woman wearing a dress?" 
(we still had our funeral clothes on)
Then I went inside too, and I could feel all these eyes turn on me again.
It was really weird.

But I continued walking laps around the store.

Then this woman comes up to me, leans toward my ear and whispers,
"It happens to all of us."
and passes quickly by me.

What? What is she talking about??

About this time Dennis comes in the door from getting the car refueled and says to me,
"Uh oh you have something stuck to the back of your dress." He pulls it off. 
Turns out I had been sitting on a kleenex in the car. 
Well we know what that looked like!

Oddly I wasn't embarrassed.
Just relieved to know what was "wrong" with all those people.


12 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a day! Good to see Den's son.
darlene

Grandma Honey said...

I wish both of his sons could have been there.

Anonymous said...

So very sorry to hear about Randy's death. My sympathy to you all. The tributes to Randy were touching. Thank you for sharing the personal moments. The photo of Dennis and his children is wonderful. Such gorgeous daughters. Almost got Dennis and his handsome son mixed up....thank goodness for the glasses. (his and mine!) Glad you were able to make the trip safely. We need an update on Dad, Jeff, and the Family Camp campers. pjc

McKay said...

I'm very sorry for your loss. I didn't know Randy well but I hope the service was nice. I bet it was good to see Keith, Kim and Kris too. I haven't seen Keith in ages.

On a lighter note... Mom, your experience reminds me of this commercial http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAzqGuZfo00

Grandma Honey said...

hahahaha! McKay :))

Richard said...

Thanks for taking such good care of Wendy and Hailey this past weekend. Also, youre not allowed anymore 3 day trips without a blog post, our subscriptions entitle us to more timely updates.

Rebecca said...

I am so sorry about this, please accept my condolences. I thought it was so nice how they had little stories typed up about different things.

grandmapeg said...

I like the Rule #1. It sounds like the funeral was nice. That was nice that three of Dennis' kids could make it.

Scrapally said...

I too loved the stories idea...will have to remember that the next time a need arises...so sorry for your loss...loved the pictures and the non-embarrasing story! :) hugs!

Susan Anderson said...

So sorry to learn of such a sad loss in the family. It looks like you had a lovely day with one another, and I am glad for that.


Lisa said...

So sorry to hear about the loss of such a beloved family member. While the return home for the kids became a story they'll share forever, the presence at the funeral will also be forever treasured.

WELCOME to MY WORLD! Corona / Eastvale is where 3 of G's siblings & Mom lives & now you know the area we travel to every time we head to S. Ca! In fact, we are heading there tomorrow or I should say later tonight...for a baby blessing in Eastvale. Jacki & Ben are coming in from Seattle & I hope they have better luck on their return home. : ) I so enjoy your posts Jilly! Looking forard to the OR pics!

Kris said...

We made it!!!! :)

Look what happened last night

  Just a little pre-graduating gathering for our DIL Amy.... Not everyday a Mom of 7 and a Grandma of 7, graduates from college. It was not ...