The funeral

The funeral yesterday was lovely. My grandma, mom, aunts & uncles did a wonderful job planning the service. Lindquist Mortuary was kind and compassionate the whole week and they were so sweet with my grandma yesterday. My aunt Shannon added special touches throughout the day that made everything that much better. During the service I learned things about my grandpa that I hadn't known before and my cousin Catie (I don't know her age, maybe 10?) sang "You Are My Sunshine", a song grandpa used to sing to her. They added a few verses to the song and I will tell you it was so powerful I doubt there was a dry eye in the audience. There was also a male quartet that sang "Oh My Father" which has been one of my favorite songs since it was sung at my Dad's funeral. My Grandma & Grandpa Thacker surprised us by driving from the Uintah Basin to the funeral. Seeing them was a really emotional moment too- feeling their love for us and seeing them when we know they are not in the best of health either. The viewing prior to the funeral was hard, seeing grandpa not looking like himself because he had been so sick, but I am grateful that I got the opportunity to say goodbye, tell him how much I love him and how proud I am of him for how hard he fought.

The interment was at Paradise City Cemetery. It's in Northern Utah on your way to Logan. The cemetery is a beautiful resting place. He had full military honors provided by the Hyrum Legion. During their program and as they spoke again of the wonderful man he was and the life he led I felt so proud to be his granddaughter. I had never attended a military funeral before but the flag ceremony and gun salute were very powerful.

Trevor loved the flags. I had to watch him closely so he didn't pull one down.


After the graveside service we drove back to the church for a family dinner. When we got there the air show at Hill Air force Base had just started the fighter jets. We stood in the church parking lot watching and I think the adults enjoyed it as much or more as the kids did. It was a little bit of perfect irony if you ask me that the air show was the same day as the funeral. You see, grandma and grandpa have lived in Layton for 30+ years and as a child when we would visit them if an a F-16 flew over it was a little scary to me. The noise was so loud that conversation would have to pause and the house would shake. To them it was a normal occurrence, to me it was strange and cool at the same time. The fighter jets were did amazing formations in the air show and we had a great time watching from the church parking lot as we waited for the rest of the family to arrive. The picture above is when 4 would fly together. Once they were so low I ducked (instinct, you know).

I loved this formation in the air show- they formed a heart and it was perfect for the day!

The dinner that the Relief Society put together was wonderful and a nice close to a nice day. There are some kind and generous people in that ward. But because I can't have too nice of a day, Trevor threw up during the dinner, all over himself and the gymnasium. Nice.