The Best Way to Say Goodbye

It is truly wonderful how great loss or tragedy can bring people together. It was a blessing to me to see how our family has coped with the loss. And, at the risk of seeming morbid, I wanted to share a few photos from the week. Grandpa Henry will be missed by many...the funeral was a packed house...standing room only. People came from near and far to say goodbye to their dear friend, and it spoke volumes about the great man that he was. Thanks to all for your kind words and prayers.

We all spent our days and evenings at Grandma's house. The great-grandkids enjoyed reading books and playing games with Grandma. They were a great diversion. The rest of us just hung out and ate LOTS of food! Lots of people brought food by the house and she had many many beautiful bouquet deliveries. On Thursday, all of us girls took Grandma shopping for a new outfit for the funeral. She has recently lost some weight and didn't have anything to wear. Needless to say, she wasn't keen on going at first, but thanked us for a great time in the end.

The funeral was Saturday. Like I said, the church was packed and people started arriving 40 minutes early. There were some technical difficulties and the sideshow that Henry and a friend made had to be watched on a small TV screen. Fortunately, Henry was able to bring his TV from home and show it at the reception so that the people sitting in the back could get a chance to see it as well. Grandma was happy that Ann (Tierney) could finagle her work schedule so that she could come and sing. She sang Amazing Grace beautifully...as usual. The casket was perfect and the bouquet on top was adorned with gill netting "accessories"....one of Grandpa's favorite things to do.

The weather was pretty bad, but a flood of cars still followed the casket to the cemetery for the internment. The wind was blowing the rain sideways and umbrellas were turning inside out. Thank goodness we're Oregonians...we can handle it =)

After that, we all met at the Warrenton Community Center for food and fellowship. It really was a nice time.

We all hung out and watched movies again that night and planned to meet up again on Sunday. It was Adam's birthday, so Grandma made an effort to make him his favorite...pecan pie. She got it started, but had to run to the hospital to take care of her mother who had an infection (nothing earth-shattering...but Great-Grandma Backe is 98 years old!). As if Grandma didn't have enough to deal with already! Anyway, the pie somehow got finished, we ate a great dinner, and ended the week on a happy note.

Henry August Balensifer Jr.

June 2nd, 1930 - March 11th, 2009