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.

Sweet 16!!!

Chase's 16th birthday was somewhat brushed under the rug because of our trip to Illinois for my dad's funeral.  We traveled from Clarksville, TN, to Belleville, IL that morning.  Greg was supposed to already be there, but he was flying standby and all the flights were full.  He ended up having to buy a full-price ticket in order to make it for the funeral.  It was 8pm before we picked him up from the Metro station.  We headed for Chevy's to eat Mexican and give Chase her gifts.  I promised her cinnamon rolls for breakfast and a dessert of her choice when we get home.  Love you, Chase!

Chips and salsa - yum!

Chase and Landon

A card from Carys with $1 and 3 pennies taped inside

A little money from Grandma

Dad tries to cut the large bottle of beer out of the picture

So serious!

Greg got her to smile

Our First College Graduate!

On Saturday, May 3, 2014, Landon graduated from the University of Central Florida (UCF) with a Physics BS and a math minor.  We're very proud of him.  As of now, he's not sure what he's going to do next.  He always thought he'd go to graduate school and has applied to UCF and FSU, but he is really tired of school right now and doesn't really want to go.  So,  he is going to find a job instead.  He is still waiting to hear about graduate school as well.

 

Landon and his roommate, Andrew, both graduated today.

Tamar (Andrew's girlfriend), Andrew, Landon, and Dave (their other roommate)