When I was younger, Memorial Day for me was a fun day off from school with cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents joining with our family to remember those who had gone before us. The day usually involved trips to the local cemeteries where we put pretty flowers on the graves of those relatives whom we had loved and lost, and some on the graves of those we only knew through stories. We would often run into distant cousins and neighbors who were there paying respect to their loved ones, too. The rest of the day involved picnics, scenic drives, or some other way of celebrating. It was always a great way of sliding into summer and the winding down of the school year.
This year was a little different. My husband and I split up so that he could accompany his dad, sister Carolyn, and brother-in-law Ron to visit his side of the family in Heber City, Mapleton, Provo, and Salt Lake, while I went with my sister Julie, brother-in-law Travis, and Aunt Mardene to visit my nephew Shane’s grave. My sister lives in Idaho Falls, Idaho and Shane is buried in Southern Utah in a small town called Parowan. They made the first leg of the journey to spend the night at our house, and then they were going to drive down to Parowan and back the next day (another 7 hours driving). Usually they stay over night in Parowan with Shane’s in-laws (Holly is back East), but they were out of town, so I invited myself to go along with them and we talked Aunt Mardene into coming, too. We figured we could have some good catching up time during the long drive.
Shane left this earthly life at a much too early age. He left behind a young wife and small son. Julie and I were staying with him and his wife Holly in Washington D. C. at the time he passed away. It was a heart breaking experience! You can read about it here.
The Parowan cemetery is located against the foot hills and quite took my breath away with its peaceful beauty and charm. The red soil is a beautiful contrast to the countryside I’m used to.
We had a few teary moments as we thought about the wonderful man Shane had become and how much we missed him.
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While we were there we had one of those “random” moments, or “it’s a small world” miracles. (The kind that you could never create by yourself.) We were several hundred miles from home, in a town I’d never been to before, at an unassuming time of day, and on the Saturday before Memorial Day. I remarked to Julie that a lady in the section next to us reminded me of our daughter-in-law Brittany’s mother. I didn’t even begin to think it really was since they live further North than we do. As we got in our car and started to leave, I realized that is WAS Brittany’s mother, father, and brother.
They were on their way home from St. George and had stopped to visit the grave of her dad’s sister.
Guess what the sister’s last name was?
Clegg.
Kind of a cool “defying the odds” moment!
We ended our visit with lunch at the Parowan Café- famous for its home made hot rolls.
Today and tomorrow we will be spending more time visiting with family and remembering those we miss.
It will be much more than a fun weekend off from school!
How do you celebrate Memorial Day?
JoAnn
P.S. Memorial Day may be about remembering those we have lost, but it is also a great time to connect with people we still have with us!
