I have no idea who the Gaither’s are, and having just listened to them, I can appreciate your opinion of them. I adore the IZ version of “Somewhere over the Rainbow” one of my favorites too!

Hugs, and extra hugs. I’m laughing a little too since I’m putting myself in your place, but if he was blind he wouldn’t know what he was missing even if he hadn’t died (I hope!)

No!? What was the church? I’ve never seen that in all the tons of churches, basilicas, monasteries, I’ve been too. Not even the Kennedy Presidential Library has that!

It is very expensive to hire those companies, but I’m surprised you can’t pay it off over time. It was very kind of you to volunteer.

Everyone in my family tends to die around Xmas. We have to wait to bury them until spring unless they can heat the ground first.

I’m sorry to hear that, hugs!

Hugs!!!

I’m sorry about your baby, hugs! That would have been a lovely thing to see and enjoy after the service! :)

Wow! There’s a difference between going to a wake, and staying up with teh body all night, and getting rip-roaring drunk, or getting laid somewhere nearby, but this is even more crazy. I think I’d have slept on the floor.

I’ve been to too many funerals to mention, since I was five or so, and I’ve only been to one that was closed-casket, and one that was a cremation. I also grew up Catholic with massive families so older ages of the deceased and region (Midwest) probably have a lot to do with it.

Hugs! I’m sure she forgave you, knowing you were newly bereaved yourself. Forgive yourself.

I’m glad I was raised Catholic culturally, went through most of the sacraments, get the jokes in Dogma, but am very Agnostic/Quaker now and am ok with it. Makes Xmas hard though at times when the family gets back together.

Nuns are awesome but are treated very crappily by the Vatican. Hopefully not for forever.

I just snorted pop out my nose...thanks!

Sing it fellow crazy wake-goer! My families wakes/funeral’s are the best, once it’s over and you get the priest to come drink at the resturant/pub.

I know we’ve done roasaries the night before the service but during...yikes!

I’m originally from MI and the idea of you guys doing all this in the snow is very funny.

The potential of ‘what could have been’?

That’s cool! I wanted to take a post-mortem open-casket one of my grandfather but my mom said no, she was too put off by the idea, but Grandpa looked great. All those years of pain had melted away when his muscles relaxed.

A few years ago my Godmother died. She had had a double lung transplant, after needing it for a few years, and later succumbed to melanoma. My Godfather, her daughter, and I went early to check things out and we started messing with A’s makeup since Daughter didn’t think it looked right. We screwed it up so badly that…