Mass Service and Funeral Ceremony

 
We all attended a mass service at St Rose of Lima Church in Carbondale on Friday May 28.  There was quite a showing of our Moran Family in attendance, as shown in the first photograph (don't mind the laughing buffoons in the rear). After the mass, we gathered at Our Mother of Sorrows Cemetery for the funeral ceremony. Dad led us in prayer as we laid Mom to rest with Grandma and Grandpa. It was a beautiful ceremony.
 

Earlier that morning, we met Uncle Art and the cousins to visit the graves of our family members that have also been buried at the cemetery. The Myers' traditionally come to the cemetery on Memorial Day to lay flowers and touch-up the plots.  I took many photos of various headstones and gravestones, but there are too many to insert here.  Shown below is Danielle touching up Gerard's gravestone, as well as a pretty flower pot painted by the Myers grandchildren for their Grandmother Patricia.



 From the cemetery, we gathered at McDonnell's Restaurant in Carbondale for a nice lunch and a chance to reconnoiter with distant relatives.

Granting Mom's Final Wish

As you all know, several members of our family traveled to Carbondale, PA to lay Mom's ashes at Our Mother of Sorrows Cemetery with her parents. We all met in Carbondale over Memorial Day weekend, which was appropriate in my opinion. After a mass service at St Rose of Lima Church on Friday (May 28), we laid Mom to rest with Grandma and Grandpa Myers. It was a memorable trip with tears and much laughter with our distant relatives. We also had the pleasure of meeting new acquaintances like Marina Whittington, for whom one of the Whittington books was prepared for. There are too many stories and pictures to insert into one post. So for those of you who read this regularly, I will publish posts over the next couple of weeks.

For those who have publishing privileges (oh wait, that's every damn one of you!!!!), please feel free to publish your posts as well. A wonderful evening to all of you. I look forward to sharing the wonderful memories of our trip to all of you.

An Unusual Dedication for Mom

Whitney Grey is a good friend of mine; I've known him for almost 15 years. He lives on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Reservation in the east valley (he's a Pima). Since I've known him, he's been a very sick man. He has so many ailments, I couldn't possibly describe them to you. I always joke with him that he'll never die.

Whitney is also a well-known artist, at least to those with an interest in Native American art. His works are in water color, with abstract themes using various symbols and designs of his people. The images he paints always come to him, he says, in dreams or spontaneously. I've wondered aloud if he gets his visions the same way Edgar Allen Poe got his story ideas; he just laughs. His work is in demand these days. He has been commissioned by Marriott to complete a series of paintings for the new casino hotel. He just finished three that will fetch about $3500.00. He may even get to work on a very large wall mural in the casino.

I called him the weekend after Mom died to let him know. He did what he could, saying prayers to his God. Some weeks later, he presented me with a painting he had done for the Jones Family as a memorial to Mom. It's presented below. I especially love how he used green on the painting. The painting is approximately 12in X 15in. When Mary gets time, I'll have her frame it. I know some of you are looking at this and thinking, what's the big deal?

But hey, in this day and age when someone can pee in a jar and stick in a crucifix, or insert an American flag in a toilet and get reviews from it, I would consider this to be a genuine work from a real artist. I thanked him profusely for his work.

Hello from Mississippi

Hey all, I have a very weak signal where my trailer is, so I don't get to use my phone as often as I would like. But things are going well. I am being used like a mule at work. It is as if I never left. There are a few changes and procedures I will need to get more familiar with, but other than that. The weather today is terrible. Lots of rain, and the temp is dropping. It is part of that storm that hit TX, and OK. Corol says that it is icy up where she is in Hot Springs. I went to Wal-mart this morning, pulled into a gas station, and there was 5 ENTERGY linemans trucks fueling up. They were headed for Arkansas and Texas to help out. The trailer is doing fine...except, I think my power convertor went out. I came home one night and my lights were very dim. All the lights, pumps, and motors run off the batteries. The batteries are supposed to be charged by the power convertor, which in turn converts AC into DC. I borrowed Harrys' charger, so they are still being charged. Now my next project is to locate this convertor and take it into work so the electricians can rebuild it for me :)). I think about all of you often. I was in Hot Springs helping Corol move into her new house, and we managed to watch the AZ game and the Colts game. I was shocked that there were a few AZ fans amongst all of the Saints fans! But, we had a good time. We went to Buffalo Wild Wings. Well, about all for now. Will talk to ya later! Love, Joe