Back from my grandpa’s funeral. He was embalmed. I’m not sure if that was per his wishes or what my grandma wanted as grandpa is going to be embalmed. He didn’t really look like himself, but dead people never look like themselves. There isn’t that spark. When he had his heart attack, he drove (slowly) into a house. He must not have been wearing a seatbelt as his nose was broken. There was still some bruising evident on his nose. As the house he hit was across from the hospital and his crash was witnessed by a nurse (I think…) Grandpa received medical care immediately, but there was nothing that could be done. He did look peaceful lying there.

There were pictures that Pat and her girls had put together. One of them was a picture from 1960 of Mom and Grandpa sitting together. My cousin, Pegi, said it was the only picture from back then of Grandpa with one of the kids.

The service was nice. The pastor hadn’t known Grandpa all that well, but remembered him as a quiet man. He added in his sermon that at a youth group meeting on Wednesday night, Grandpa’s passing came up and one of the 16 year olds in attendance remembered Grandpa from when he’d worked at the school and commented about what a nice guy he’d been. Dad cried a lot during the service. Amy said it looked like he’d had the most trouble when the flag was presented to Grandma.

I’d heard that Grandpa had served in the military, but hadn’t known when or where until I read his obituary. Grandpa served in the Army toward the end of World War II. I never heard him talk about it. Now that I know, I have a bunch of questions I wished I’d asked him.

The service concluded with a balloon release. We weren’t sure what would happen because of the temperature (around 8 degrees) but all 20 balloons (1 for each great-grandchild) went straight up into the sky. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a helium balloon get that high in the sky.

One of the plants at the service was on behalf of the great-grandchildren. It is a small evergreen tree that is going to be planted at my aunt Pat and uncle Rich’s cabin as a living memorial. The cabin was a place Grandpa liked to go and he loved seeing the kids having fun.

It was nice seeing my cousins and uncles and aunts again but we all agreed that we’d prefer better circumstances.

Dad has an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon on 2/1. He is also going to try to get an MRI on his right shoulder. He had injured it the night before Mom died, trying to get her back to bed (Mom had basically collapsed). He went to physical therapy, but quit as it had reached a point where the shoulder would feel good until he got to therapy, then they’d do things in the session to aggravate it and the whole process would start again. His neck is bothering him, especially if he moves it in one direction too quickly. In talking with him about the negligence in his fall, he said someone had cleared snow off the walk he was on and the surface beneath was like polished ice. Other businesses along main street had ice melt down, just not the bar. Dad said he’s been getting dicked around by the insurance agent that covers the city, so he’s no longer looking at just getting his medical bills paid and may end up hiring the attorney that handled his case against Hardee’s.

Got to see my brother and his wife, which is always nice. I started ripping on the idiocy of the average criminal. Both looked at me like I was possessed. I guess they think I’m a liberal so I think all criminals should be given hugs, not imprisonment.

I talked with Grandma today about assisted living. She is seeming mildly receptive. In talking with my cousin, Susan, it sounds like there are no openings in any of the area assisted living centers. I think my uncle Neil and his wife are going to take Grandma around to a few places so she can see what they are like. I told Amy that if Mom were alive and healthy, if there was nothing available in the Redfield area, I could see Mom talking Grandma into going into a center near Lake Wilson. Who knows, if they aren’t able to find anything in NE SD, it still could happen.