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A day I'll always remember

November 25, 2008 at 10:08 PM

As I mentioned in my last blog, my Great-Grandmother, Mildred passed away on Saturday evening. Today was the funeral....

As the family walked into the room, the song playing on the organ was the piece which she used to play many years ago on clarinet which I think she would have found very neat. Before the funeral, there was a video that I liked so much. I loved seeing the pictures of how she changed throughout her life. From the picture of a young girl in her sunday dress, to the picture of her standing outside her house in her hometown as young woman, to the picture of her a month ago. On physical display were photos of her through her life, and her art work. Beautiful oil paintiings on canvas. One was of a pair of swans, and another an amazing land scape. There was also an amazing quilt which she made when only 11 years old. I was impressed by all.

I walked in having aprehensive feelings, but knew I needed to be there for my family... First the normal of the Pastor or whatever, but his talking meant nothing to me. What my family members had to say did though. First, my uncle read the obituary. Then my aunt Heather bravely walked to the podium to talk about the things that her "Granny Mildred" meant to her and what she'll remember. She talked about the memories of playing around her condo and how she would always have a box of girl scout cookies in the freezer. As well as how she tought her to be whitty and instilled a sharp sense of humor in her. Then, the thing that hit me the most was how she tought her to play the harmonica over 25 years ago; and she could still remember the song that Granny tought her. She then played it today without missing a note which made some people cry.

Then my mom walked to the podium and I was very proud of her. She hates speaking in public and she thought going into this that it would be too much to handle but she managed. She talked about how when she was a child, she came up with the name "Granny" and Mildred hated it! Then she came to love it and that's what the great grandchildren like myself and the younger children, still call her today. Then she talked about how she wanted us to remember her- not the woman that struggled to remember peoples names, but the sharp, smart woman that Mildred was.

After that, my aunt Monica, and uncle Bruce stepped forward to sing Granny Mildred's favorite hymn... I couldn't tell you the title because I was so "caught up" in their beautiful singing. I was amazed of how they're voices melded together so perfectly and the emotion in the piece was obvious. By the end, my aunt Monica was in tears as she walked back to her seat. She was one of the few who shed tears today. The saddest part of today was seeing my 6 year old nephew Charlie, cry at the end of the funeral.

I'm sorry if this was a little all over the place! I struggled so hard to get this into words......

Hi Paul,

Thanks for sharing your thoughts about today. People's lives are really like a river flowing down a mountain into the valley finally reaching the ocean.Death really shouldn't be a sad event but more of a celebration for all that person did and accomplished.

Craig

my grandfather's memorial service was today. it was a day i will always remember, and i was glad it could be taped onto DVD so i can experience the readings and prayers again and again. i actually played violin at it, and it was a very moving experience, probably the most i;ve every been "with" the music.

Hi Paul,

You have my sympathies, and same to you, Giancarlo. Your account, Paul, makes me think of  my own grandmother's funeral; we were very close because she lived with us when I was growing up. It was really lovely; I played, and my sister and I read off some of our fondest and funniest memories about her. But I also remember later in the day, standing by her grave, putting a rose on it. All the close relatives put roses on her grave. Then everyone was walking away, but me. I just couldn't. I remember looking at the roses, and suddenly a very cold wind blew, it blew the roses and it chilled me.  I was feeling very alone, forgetting even that others were there, until an aunt came up to me, an aunt who was actually on the other side of the family. She put her arm around me and said, "Come on, Laur. It's time to go."

Thank you Craig, Giancarlo and Laurie. Thank you especially Laurie for sharing your story; I enjoyed reading it.

Giancarlo, I know what you mean by that. After I got home, I started playing Bach and found the emotion in it come a lot easier and had a broad pallet for which to change the sound. From the sad nuances of Adagio from the Sonata in G minor, to the aggresively, yet lightly accented Presto. It's not too difficult to find inspiration after something like today's events.

Paul,

That's very good you went back to Bach. There's a saying that the Chaconne from the d minor partita was written as a requiem during the death of Bach's wife. That's one of the greatest masterpieces ever written for violin.

Craig

Craig,

I can easily see what your talking about. Bach's music is very powerful and I don't think anyother composer has reached that level of phrasing and rythm. I also find Tchaikovsky's music powerful because he was going through hardship when he wrote many of his pieces.

The only pieces of Bach that I can play that are worth presenting are Adagio and Presto from the G minor sonata; Tempo di Bouree from the B minor sonata and Allemende from the D minor partita.... I'll just keep working on it!

You are lucky to have known your great-grandma.  Services of this kind are a good time to share with others how special members of the family are and to bond as a family over the memories of that person.

 I agree, you are so lucky to have known your great-grandmother for so long. My only living great-grandmother died when I was a baby, so I have no memory of her. Likewise, my children don't remember their great-grandmothers, although they have very fond memories of my grandfather, who lived to 102. 

I also agree that the D-minor Bach is a wonderful and fitting memorial to your great-grandmother, who sounds like a wonderful person. 

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Paul G. is from West Point, Utah. Biography

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