Grandpa's funeral

Tags: family, Grandpa, grief, funeral, joy, Guernsey

Date: 20 October 2009 20:08:45

Today has been a wonderful day, which might seem a little strange as it has been Grandpa's funeral. However, this has been a chance for us to celebrate the life of a truly extraordinary man who has influenced all our lives.

We started with the interment, which was great as it kind of got the really visibly sad bit out of the way, before moving onto church for a thanksgiving service. Grandma had chosen a gorgeous white cross with red roses as the floral tribute. Mum told me that it was symbolic. The three red roses in the middle represented Grandpa, his first wife Grandma Anita and his second wife Grandma Mary. The four red roses in each corner of the cross represent the four children. I thought that was lovely!

Grandpa had chosen all his own readings and his hymns which wereOh, for a Thousand Tongues to Sing, Jesus, Thy Blood and Righteousness, Jesus, the Name High Over All and How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds. The singing was magnificent and it was so nice to hear these lovely hymns sung properly. My Uncle John gave a lovely tribute to Grandpa and I learnt lots of things I didn't know already. I knew that Grandma and Grandpa had lots of missionaries to stay, but I hadn't realised that one of them was Gladys Aylward which I thought was quite cool. Grandpa was very committed to supporting people who were serving God overseas, as well as being a founding member of the The Gideons. It was a very lovely tribute, and very fitting. My cousin Tim also read the following poem, which Grandpa gave out to everyone he could...

I Met God in the Morning by Ralph Cushman

I met God in the morning
When my day was at its best.
And his presence came like sunrise:
Like a glory in my breast.
All day long the presence lingered,
All day long he stayed with me;
And we sailed in perfect calmness
O'er very troubled sea.
Other ships were blown and battered,
Other ships were sore distressed;
But the winds that seemed to drive them,
Brought to us rest and peace.
Then I thought of other mornings
With a keen remorse of mind,
When I too had loosed the moorings:
With the presence left behind.
So I think I know the secret
Learned from nay a troubled way:
You must seek him in the morning
If you want him through the day.

I met God in the morning
when the world was still.
I met God in the morning
when I sought his will.
I met God in the morning
when I knelt to pray.
I met God in the morning
and he stayed with me all day.

After the service we went to Les Cotils for afternoon tea. It was lovely that so many people came and the food was fantastic. It was also rather convenient as this is where we are going to have our wedding reception so I got to test out the food, as well as have a little look around the place.

So, all in all, a sad day, but not a really sad day. It was good to celebrate the life of my lovely Grandpa, but as we say in Guernsey patois, a la perchoine... which means until we meet again because I am very, very sure that we will meet again in heaven.

So, here are a few photos for you to peruse (there are a few more on Flickr if you want to click through from one of these pictures)...