Grandma Mary's Funeral

During the Christmas break, we did get some bad news. Ross's Grandma Mary (who had not been doing well for a while) peacefully passed away in the early morning hours of December 29th. So after our New Year's celebrations, we came home so that Ross could go to work for one day and I could get things ready for a road trip to Fallon, Nevada for the funeral. 

It was a very quick trip. We left early Friday morning and returned Sunday afternoon. Knowing that it would be so quick with a lot of time spent in the car, my mom offered to keep Leah for the weekend which was a great blessing. She would have had fun playing with cousins while we were in Fallon, but traveling in a car for 16-18 hours in one weekend would have been hard for her. So after dropping Leah off at my parents house, Ross, Corbin and I left for Fallon with Ross's brother, Don. All things considered, Corbin did great on the trip. He slept a lot and only fussed about the last 30 minutes of each leg of the trip. (I'm still not sure how he always knew that we were only about a half hour away.)

Grandma Mary was actually Grandpa Miller's second wife. Ross's grandma died when he was only 2 years old. So Grandma Mary was the grandma he grew up with. And Grandma Mary was very good at treating her Miller grandkids just like her own. One of the things I was most impressed with that weekend in Fallon was how united the two families were even though Mary and Charlie were both widowed grandparents when they got married. 

On Friday evening we all got together at the church for a family dinner. Here is a picture of those of us who were there from the Miller family. 

Ross and Don got to be pall bearers along with the other grandsons. Ross is at the far right in this picture and Don is a little to the left of the casket in a tan colored suit. And the grandchildren and great-grandchildren were also asked to sing a medley of children's primary songs during the funeral. I was glad Ross was able to participate so much in his grandmother's funeral services.

The funeral was a great celebration of her life. I was particularly touched by some of the things shared by her bishop. One thing I remember him talking about (and I'm paraphrasing a lot here) is that we were so excited to come to earth and have a body that our spirit would be willing to dwell in it even in less than ideal circumstances. Grandma Mary's spirit dwelt in her body until it was so worn out that it simply was no longer inhabitable. And with the blessing of the resurrection, she will one day have her body back in perfect working order. That is such a comforting principle to me! I wish I could remember more of what he said.

Fallon is a small town and still has small town courtesies when it comes to funerals. I was very impressed by this. We had a police escort to the cemetery. Officers were posted at each intersection to stop traffic and citizens stopped or pulled over to the side of the road while we all drove by. You just don't see that kind of respect in the cities anymore. I think that's too bad.

After the dedication of the grave, we walked over to where Ross's grandparents are buried. So I took a few pictures of his family's headstones. This first one is for Ross's aunt Norma (his mother's sister). She died of cancer before Ross was born. When she passed away, she left behind three young boys. The youngest of which was only a baby. Such a sad story. In case you can't read it, her headstone says: "Norma M. Whitaker, Beloved Wife and Mother Through Eternity, July 20, 1949 December 4, 1974."

This headstone is for his Grandma Miller. Hers says: "June B. Miller, Beloved Wife & Mother Through Eternity, June 17, 1918 - Sep. 2, 1980".

And here's Grandpa Miller's. It says: "Charlie G. Miller, Beloved Husband & Father Through Eternity, Sep. 30, 1914 - Feb. 10, 2003

Right after the luncheon we traveled as far as Elko, Nevada and stayed the night at Judy and LaVelle's house. Judy is Grandma Mary's daughter and Grandma had been living there for the past two years. We had been there to visit Grandma a couple times and it was kind of sad to be there without her. But I know she is in a much better place and is happy there. I am so glad that I can find peace in times likes these through my knowledge of Jesus Christ, His gospel and the Plan of Salvation. Families are forever!