See You In a Little While

On Tuesday, May 6, 2014, we remembered the life of my dad, Joe Murphy.  He passed away on April 20, 2014, two days after the girls and I left Illinois at the end of a visit.  He wanted to be cremated, so my mom decided to wait to have his memorial service until after Landon graduated.  The service was so beautiful and began with this song off of Steven Curtis Chapman's newest album, The Glorious Unfolding.

Dr. Steve Phillips, the pastor of my parents' church, Winstanley Baptist Church, and Rev. Wendell Garrison, our former pastor there, officiated.  The each had beautiful things to say and knew Dad well, so it was a very special service. 

Landon read Revelation 21:1-7.  I shared a few words, then sang "I Will Rise" by Chris Tomlin accompanied by Chase on the guitar.  Then Tina Dickerson, my sister's daughter, sobbed through a poem about grandfathers.

The service ended with this song, also from The Glorious Unfolding.

The church provided a meal for everyone who wanted to stay.  Then we headed over to Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery for the interment service.  It was incredible.  There was a life honor guard, one of whom played Taps live.  There were three sweet elderly gentlemen who did a 21-gun salute.  It was really, really special.  The pictures below are from that part of the service.

21-gun Salute

I was standing behind my mom, and Gerren was standing behind me.  So, I didn't know that he was also saluting until I saw this picture.  It almost did me in!

The flag was folded to begin with since it wasn't on a casket.  The honor guard members unfolded it and refolded it, then the female went around the wall you see to play "Taps".

The speech the soldier said when presenting the flag to my mom was really neat.

The leader of the team that did the 21-gun salute presented my mom with a small bag containing 3 shells that represent duty, honor and courage (I think?).

My parents were married for 64 years, and it will be a tough adjustment for my mom.