Grandpa Burrows

On Wednesday, January 26, 2011, Richard's father passed away in his sleep. He had dementia for over three years and knew that it would be "the day" at some point, but it was still surprising. Even Richard's Mom who was sleeping on the couch next to him, did not get to say good-bye. He just slipped away with no warning.

After the initial shock and first couple of days, family started pouring in. All of Richard's eight siblings and their families came from near and far. Being with all of the family, made the loss a lot easier.

We had a couple of family dinners on top of the viewing, funeral, and graveside service. Cousins laughed and played and shared stories about their Grandpa. Remembering him at his prime made it seem somehow okay for us to loose him, so he can be in that prime condition again. Although, I will always be sad that my children did not get to know their Grandpa and that my husband no longer has a father here on Earth.

Although tears were shed and it was freezing on the day of the funeral, it seemed quite perfect. All nine children participated and did a great job celebrating their father's life. Amongst the tears, lots of laughing was had as we enjoyed the funny stories of this incredible man. He was quirky and did things his own way. He was extremely intelligent and figured out how to fix everything (whether it was the right way or not was not the question). I never really got to know the true Robert Burrows, but I did know his sense of humor. Even when he was not talking anymore, he would laugh at jokes or funny things going on.

I always heard about his unusual food options. He always ate healthy and mixed things that normally don't get mixed together. His two sisters got a beautiful flower arrangement for the day with broccoli in it to honor this about him. This is Richard's oldest sister smelling the broccoli after the graveside service.

We will miss loving and serving our Dad and Grandpa, but we know there was a great a reunion with his parents, brother, and first wife (who died of cancer after ten years of marriage) in heaven. We are so thankful for our knowledge of life after death and eternal families.

To read his obituary go HERE.