My dear Cutie friends, We are back home now from taking our Benny's ashes for burial in Indiana. We had lots of family and friends at both the graveside service and the Celebration of his life at the church fellowship hall where I grew up. A bagpiper played at the beginning (How Great Thou Art, What a Friend we Have in Jesus, and Jesus Loves Me) of the graveside service (and then played Amazing Grace at the end. The first picture shows the table with his Urn/Vault with the quilt I made and the square from Sue and Meganne, and of course Kermit and Elmo, and the flowers, and the second shows my brothers, my dad, mom, me, Willie, my son with Evie on his lap, and my daughter with lots of family all around. We asked that instead of flowers donations be given, so there weren't many flowers.The cross has John 3:16 on it.
It was a beautiful graveside service and everyone sang It's a Small World and closed with singing the old hymn God Will Take Care of You. My dad read a poem he had written for Ben when he was just 3 years old that still fit just perfect. Willie and I both spoke and there was lots of joy with the tears. It's a beautiful cemetery where generations of my ancestors are buried, far from any houses, among corn and bean fields, nicely kept. There were lots of flowers on the graves all around, birds singing and butterflies. One of Ben's cousins found a little lost kitten, with a sore eye, and took her home to find a new home, and decided to keep her. How appropriate for our family of cat lovers. We went back to the cemetery afterwards and had a photo taken of our daughter Lana, myself, Willie standing in the back and our son, Jake. Willie had injured his back badly trying to save Ben, so all he could do was stand painfully, and of course people kept trying to his him long, strong embraces. He is a rock, and a strong Christian man, but his heart, and mine are broken. We thought we would have Ben longer. We are so proud of Ben and we were incredibly honored to be his parents.
[2]
[3]
[4]
59631
Jan, thanks for sharing so much of Ben's life with us, and for the photos of this beautiful ceremony of passing, and celebration of Ben's life. Know you are cared for and loved and prayed for by so many in this community who got to know Ben through you, and came to love him. I'll be missing him, too. Much love, Marji
33451One silly little thing to add. Lana has changed into her Kermit t-shirt here. She didn't wear that to the Graveside memorial service. This photo was taken later when we went back after the Celebration of Ben's life - which was like any party we would have for Ben - with Kermit and Elmo balloons, eating cake first, and all of his favorite foods! Here is a photo taken before everyone arrived at the Church Family Fellowship room. We sang It's a Small World with his rhythm band instruments. There were about 80 people there. There will be many more at the Grand Lake celebration.
59631
463419
13216Lovely ceremony.... Thanks for including us in your family! Suzanne
111382Thank you for sharing your lovely photos, they are so beautiful. What a nice way to celebrate his life. God bless.
23282What a wonderful celebration of life and living! Your Ben has touched the lives of so many, more than most people do in their life time. I know the hardest days are yet to come so please know how much you and Willie are loved and prayed for by people all over the planet. We are all here for a short time and Ben enjoyed his life so much because of you two wonderful parents. Thank you for allowing us to be a part of your lives and sharing so much with us. I believe God is pleased to have him home again where he is safe, secure and loved beyond measure. I also believe God is with you during your grief. I pray you both will find comfort in the coming days and also for Willie's back to heal. God bless you both.
Meri
15572Dear Jan, what a wonderful ceremony and thanks for sharing this special event with us all. I was thinking of you all day on Saturday and I even had my dessert first and then my Macaroni and cheese (I had to go to our local shopping centre to buy it!) in memory of Ben. I'm afraid I would have cried the whole time - as soon as I hear a piper it just brings a huge lump to my throat.
What a lovely picture of the family too and how nice to see Lana in the Kermit T-shirt. I, along with others, hope that Willie's back will heal quickly.
May God continue to be with you and may all your wonderful memories of Ben live on. Love and blessings Chris
234500It sounds like it was a nice farewell & celebration of Ben's life. Remember the good times & know that he is looking down upon you all with his own sweet memories. God Bless you all.
12407What a beautiful farewell.
Thank you for sharing Ben's journey with us Jan, I feel honoured to have got to know him through your many posts and messages.
You have 26 years of precious memories and in time they will bring you the greatest joy without the terrible pain you are feeling now. I pray that time will come sooner than later,as, with Ben's love of life, I am sure he would not want you to be sad because of him.
God bless and keep you all and thank you for allowing me to be there in spirit. Hugs and much love, Meg
122864Thank you dear Jan for telling us all about Ben's final journey. I was thinking about you so much on 31st. Having read so much about Ben I felt I really 'knew' him. Thank you for sharing your very special son with us. Love and hugs Sarah.
255054What a wonderful tribute to a beautiful soul. May the days ahead bring you sweet memories of your time here on Earth with your beloved son. Thank you for sharing your journery with Ben, with us.
Hugs
Jerri
30656Thank you for sharing Ben's final journey with us. I keep seeing him in my mind running around & so very happy with Jesus!! Please grieve for him, but please know you did everything you could & it was time. One day you'll know why this was his time, but until then hold on to the beautiful memories. I promise, the tears will lessen but the memories will grow sweeter each day. Remember there's a lot of cuties out here praying for your family.
35675Dear Jan, Ben's memorial service must have been a wonderful tribute to him and also to you and Willie. Many prayers for you each day! Hugs and God Bless you all! ro
19452What a beautiful service for Ben. He is smiling down on you
Bev
67271Thank you Jan for sharing these moments with us. Ben was so special and you were the very special parents he loved. I am praying for you and your family that God provides you with comfort. Hugs, Mary
33871I am with you!!! Big hugs for you. Thank you for sharing this with us. Sending out prayers for you and the family. Devon
72397Ben was an exceptional person and you were and will continue to be exceptional parents. God hovers with you and knows your grieving heart and wants to bless you EVEN in this loss. I am in awe and will cherish the picture of young Ben looking at the birds.
66911Hugs to you dear Jan. May you be filled with comfort and peace. I do hope your DH heals fully. You truly are very special parents! Thank you for sharing Ben with all of us. The boys and I send our love. They have worried so much about you. Our prayers for you and your family continue.
57675Thank you for letting us be part of it. Hugs to you.
109774Thank you for sharing a little bit of yourselves with us. You make it sound beautiful. Ben will always be with you, just in a slightly different way. Those that we remember are always with us. Soft hugs to you, Willie and the rest of your family.
16707Thank you for sharing this with us. May God give you strength to cope in the difficult time ahead. Always remember: It is only very special people that are chosen to be parents of very special children like your Ben!
It is now time to be very kind with yourselves. Talk about Ben as much as you need. I found talking about one's loss help one to find peace and acceptance.
I pray for a speedy recovery for Willie with his injured back.
8037My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. Hugs, Joyce
23577Thank you for sharing these pictures. Makes a person feel a little like they are there sharing with you.
38558thank you Jan for telling us how beautiful the ceremony was, by the way you described it, we can feel how lovely it must have been. I wished I could give you a real hug now. Ben must have been so happy and proud of the way you said goodbye. My prayers and hugs for you. And thank you for sharing the moments and stories of Ben . He was very special for you, but also for many Cute members. With love, Gerry
1 comment
743303Jan, thank you so much for sharing this and all of posts about Ben. It has been my pleasure to get to know him through you. Your tributes to him and his life could not be more perfect. He is smiling from ear to ear....I just know it! Hugs and prayers for poor Willie's back. Love,Jerrilyn
1 comment
158717Hi, Jan. I have been thinking about you, and sending up prayers for strength for you. Was glad to see this post. A beautiful serene setting for Ben's celebration of life. Thanks for sharing these pictures of the moment with us. May the Lord bless you and Willie with comfort in knowing you did a great job with the loving challenge He gave you!
Hugs, Angel
1 comment
by hightechgrammy
04 Jun 2014
Hugs, my dear friend, Angel, I know you understand, and we have to bond of being mothers of God's children with special needs. More will come on his Celebration of LIfe at the church fellowship hall. We had Elmo and Kermit balloons and a rhythm band!
12500Thank you for sharing this Jan. I was honoured to be able to help in a small way.
1 comment
140717