Grandpa Rasmussen's Funeral

This past week we were lucky enough to be able to attend Stewart's paternal grandfather's funeral. He passed away at the age of 88 peacefully in his sleep with his dear wife there holding his hand as he passed. For the last year his health had been declining and so in the end I think the family was happy for him to have relief from his body that was sick with age. Being at the funeral was such a sweet experience that really touched my heart. He was truly one of the most Christlike people I have ever had the privilege of knowing. I wrote this on his online obituary page,

"I will always remember the first time I met Grandpa Rasmussen. My boyfriend at the time, Stewart, was excited for me to meet his grandparents and we stopped in casually to say hello. He greeted me with a warm smile. He put his arm around me, called me a "doll", and made it sound as if I was the talk of the town. He served us his classic ice cream and got to work making me feel like a million dollars. When I told him I liked to run and would run up to the "Y" occasionally he was so impressed that from that time on he would tell everyone that I ran the "Y" even if it had been years since I had run it. :) He would go out of his way to make me feel loved and so talented and appreciated. I loved him the first time I met him and will forever have a special place for him in my heart. He cared for me as if I were is own granddaughter and that meant the world to me. I am so grateful that my children can claim him as their great grandfather. I hope they continue his legacy of tenderness, charity, and love. As my father would say, "He was a prince among men."

Here are some pictures and thoughts from the funeral that I want to remember:

Wednesday we made the long drive to Utah arriving at my brother's home at 2:30am. We spent Thursday morning with my sister-in-law Kristine which was wonderful. She is such a saint, I just love spending time with her. I went for a short little run. Oh, I love running in Utah. The mountains are absolutely breathtaking. Breathtaking. That afternoon we met up with the Ras crew to pay homage to Grandpa by eating at one of his favorite places, Chuck-a-Rama. :O) We filled our tummies and hearts with the feast of food and family.Later that evening we attended the viewing. It was nice to be able to see grandpa and let it sink in deeper that he was in fact gone. We enjoyed seeing so many family and friends there as well.

I caught this picture of Grandma saying goodbye to her sweet heart. I thought it was so sweet how she was holding out her hand to him.

Mom and Dad have been there for Grandma and have dried her tears and warmed her heart countless times as she has been living with them these past months. I know they will continue to be there for her and lighten her burdens. They are angels on earth.

Friday morning was the funeral. It was a beautiful day and a beautiful service, which I was able to enjoy thanks to Aunt Mary Anne coming to babysit Genevieve for me during the service. BLESS her heart! Hearing all the sweet things about grandpa was so lovely. Remembering him and recognizing the legacy of Christlike love he left behind really made me so thankful that I had the opportunity to be his "granddaughter". I also came away with a desire to be a better person. He loved everyone and made sure they felt like they were on top of the world. I was touched at how happy we were able to be because of how great a man he was and because of our testimonies that we will all be reunited again someday. We will all miss him but know he is so very very happy now.

That night we had a Rasmussen family party at grandma and grandpa's house soaking in the sun, playing games, and visiting with each other. It felt like the old times when the family would always get together and spend lazy fun days all together. It was just lovely.
Saturday we spent listening to conference and visiting with more family and friends that we hadn't seen is such a long time. The boys headed up to Salt Lake to attend the priesthood session in person and met up with my Brother Bob and his older boys. They loved it and celebrated after with my brother's tradition of In-and-Out.

Sunday we headed to David and Sherrie's house for our traditional conference breakfast. We were going to head home after morning session but we decided to stay an extra day because of the snow and Stewart's bad cold he came down with. David and Sherrie are really wonderful people. They love our kids as if they were their own grandbabies and Sherrie's food is seriously divine! That night we headed to my brother Bob's home and enjoyed dinner with them and their family. Love those people...Bob told us stories about my dad and his conversion, I thought it was really fun to hear.

Overall it was therapeutic and wonderful. I am not sure when we will be able to be back in Utah and be able to enjoy our family so much but I hope it isn't too long. Watching the kids LOVE being with their cousins was priceless. When we were packing up to go all of them were crying that they never wanted to go home. ;) I cant wait to be with them all again! I sure hope they start Rasmussen family reunions soon!