lovin' life: uncle gary's funeral

saturday morning we did a little shopping. we actually went to walmart, target, kohls, ross, and costco before heading back to my sister's in laws' house to get dressed for the viewing. we were shopping for yellow accessories. liza got a yellow necklace and bracelets and i got a scarf and some yellow earrings. it worked out well. and we picked up stuff like food for all of the maycocks to eat after the viewing and little packs of kleenex.

so many flags. flags lined the streets all the way from the house to the church building.

i got a whole lot of texts from my honey about how brady wasn't feeling well. sad and crying and clingy and basically just sitting on his lap and staring into nothingness. like this. my bet is teething.

but they did manage to make it outside some.

the viewing lasted over 2.5 hours and when it came time to end, the line was still all the way out the door, down the hall, and overflowing into the foyer. there were sooo many people. much of our family just hung out in the kitchen eating delicious costco wraps and snacks towards the end of the viewing. and then we all gathered in the hall while we waited for them to usher in the family. almost everyone was there (although most of us left our kids behind) despite the challenges to arrange last minute childcare and drive long hours/pay outrageous money for airfare. and... wearing yellow, uncle gary's favorite color.

it was a closed casket viewing because of the wounds he received in the crash. aunt suzan, star, lee, christian, and sean all stood in line.

waiting for the family prayer. between the hawes side and the maycock side... the room was packed.

the funeral service was perfection. common themes were that uncle gary made everyone feel like his favorite. his favorite child, favorite niece/nephew, favorite neighbor, favorite grandkid, favorite cashier at the store, etc. also, that he visited family and temples in every city he flew to, that he was a hugger with no regard for personal space, and that he loved sharing the gospel with everyone he met. star said he loved absolutely everyone with the exception of two of her previous boyfriends. christian recounted a story about when someone yelled at uncle gary but that he just kept smiling and christian was sure he was "thinking about jesus or puppies or something." sean said uncle gary was always at his children's sporting events and it took him a while to get to where they were sitting because he had to stop and hug and visit with people along the way. lee bore a solid testimony, elder holland style, of the restored gospel, the plan of salvation, and the eternal nature of families, specifically stating that "there are no accidents" and that everything is part of heavenly father's plan for us. i loved hearing stories from the hawes siblings, and from people that just knew him (from the ward/neighborhood/etc.) but especially from the nuskin bigshot who's name escapes me right now. he told stories about the many many hours he spent with uncle gary in the cockpit (over 1000?) while he was learning to fly. and their recent trip to costa rica. and that when they landed, uncle gary always said "see you later! i'm going to the temple!" and that he had family and temples everywhere they went (i think one year he visited over 50 temples) and was always excited to tell him stories starting with "you'll never believe who i ran into in the temple!" i also really loved hearing the quotes from the email interview questions uncle gary answered a little over a year ago (soon before his 49th wedding anniversary) about how, as a kid, he wanted to learn to fly, and that his greatest role models were his mother and my grandpa (his mission president turned father in law). he was the oldest of seven with a father who was frequently MIA. i think uncle gary took his example as a perfect "what not to do" and completely nailed it. as far as a husband, father, grandfather (well, all around family member), friend, member missionary, etc... you can't get any more involved than my uncle gary. we sang my country tis of thee, and til we meet with amazing grace on the piano as the special musical number. really, the whole thing was perfect.

then we all headed to the cemetery.

they did the 21 gun salute and all the military stuff that i don't understand. lee said the prayer. the casket was the cheeriest shade of bright yellow.