Grave Side Service

We woke up on Wednesday in time to get ready and head over the cemetery for Grammy's burial. I was excited (not sure that is the right word?) to finally see where Grampy was buried...he died when I was eight, but I remember still how much I loved him and missed him when he died. I remember making donuts with him, being tickled by him and that he always brought me a punch balloon when he came to town.

When we arrived, Alan and Diane introduced to the small crowd gathered at the grave site. A white haired man I had never met, one of the Hoffman brothers, walked up to us with tears in his eyes and told us how much he loved our mother...and how sorry he was she was gone. He then told Randi how much she looked like our mother...

It was so unexpected and so heartfelt. There just aren't words. My mom has been gone for so long...it was so nice to meet people that knew her as a child/teenager. The love for her was apparent...it was awesome.

Alan dedicated the grave and a few words were said. After that, we were able to learn some family history, thanks to Uncle Alan.

He spoke/answered questions for us as we walked around locating family graves.

Next to Grampy's (and now Grammy's) grave, my mom's baby brother, Ricky Tew, is buried. Ricky died when he was four. He was born with a hole in his heart. Something that today could easily be fixed. Sad. We also saw where Grampy's parents were buried, Grammy's parents and a few other family members.

We went over to the Hoffman's house for a luncheon. The Hoffman's are a fun family that grew up next door/across the street from my mom's family. They practically lived at the Tew house, or at least that's what it sounded like with all the stories. They were a fun group of life-long friends.

There were also several family members that are still living in Seattle who were able to attend. Two cousins, Arthur and Heidi...and a few second and third cousins. Most of whom I'd never met, but it was great opportunity to do so.

At the Hoffman's home, many stories were shared. Many stories about growing with Grammy as their second mother. Stories about how much they loved Ricky...and how much it still hurt he was gone. It was so wonderful to see the love this family had for my mother's family...even all these years later.

We even got to see an old picture of my mother from her teen years. They are going to e-mail it to me.

After a while we had to get going...we had so much to see still and had a very short time to do so.