Last Friday (1/9/2004) Dad called and said his sister-in-law Pat had passed away that morning. Pat had been battling cancer for a little over a year. He called back later that evening and said they were holding a memorial service Sunday evening in Bismarck, ND, the wake would be Monday evening at the church in Lead with the funeral Tuesday at 10:00 AM. He and my sisters Mary & Barb would be coming out Monday morning.
On Saturday the kids had a retreat at Church. This is part of the pilot theology class they are taking this year for their Youth Formation Class. It was lead by Fr. John Hatcher who is writing the book, which is a modified version of the Lay Ministry program books he wrote several years ago. I went up for the Men’s group meeting. When I got home, Nancy & I took down the Christmas decorations. When we were done, I said to Nancy that it seemed to go faster this year. She said it was because the kids weren’t around to help. We went to Mass and then to Nancy’s work “holiday” party.
On Monday morning I ordered $80 flower arrangement for Pat. Dad, Mary & Corey arrived around 4:00 PM. Barb didn’t come because her youngest son Blaine was sick. After we ate we headed up to Lead for the wake. We hung around for a while and visited with a lot of different people. I hadn’t seen Rich & Pat’s kids in years. We got home around 9:30.
Tuesday morning we left for the funeral around 8:30. For me, funerals just aren’t sad occasions any more. I firmly believe that if a person was a good, God will reward them so they are now enjoying eternal life. Toward the end, Patti spoke briefly about her Mom. Afterwards, we gave Uncle Corny Kientz a ride to the cemetery. Pat was buried at Oak Ridge Cemetery, which is a few miles outside of Deadwood along US Hwy 14. I had never noticed it before. It is actually a very beautiful location. We headed back to the church for some lunch. After visiting some more we headed home. We when home via Hwy 385 and Nemo Rd. When we got home, after taking some photo’s of a large 5×5 buck down the hill, and giving a tour of the camper to Dad & Mary, we headed into Rapid City. Corey wanted to go see the dinosaurs – so that is where we went. After that I took them out to Countryside, south on Sheridan Lake Road to show them the house we almost bought. They both decided they like where we lived better because it is much easier to find and more trees and land.