Since Gran was a veteran, he was eligible for burial in Portland's Willamette National Cemetery, and since my little family lives so close to Portland, we had his funeral at our stake center. It was kind of odd, asking my bishop to "throw" a funeral for my grandfather, whom he'd never met, but it went off wonderfully.
People came from all around the West to pay their respects, including from Redmond, OR, where Neenaw and Gran had lived, and Sisters, OR, where they had served an at-home mission. During the eulogies, I heard some great stories I'd never heard before, like Gran once building someone a new stick shift for their car out of a broom handle. And it worked, of course.
We sang "Abide With Me; Tis Eventide" for the closing hymn. He once heard me playing an arrangement of it on the piano and told me it was his favorite hymn.
New baby Carter was a sweet addition to our group. Uncle John joked that in Heaven, Gran and Carter must have "passed each other in the hall."
After dinner at the church, put on by our ward Relief Society sisters, we traveled to the cemetery and had a short military graveside service.
It was a hard, but beautiful day, very tender, sweet, funny, sad, and joyous. I can't wait to see Gran again.