Grandma's funeral

Grandma's obituary read: "Betty Lou Sorenson Rose, 90, of Pleasant Grove, Utah passed away peacefully in her home on Friday November 28, 2014.  The second of nine children, she was born September 24, 1924** to Floyd Rancel and Ruth Fawcett Sorensen.  She married Jay C Rose on April 14, 1941.  She has been missing him since he passed away in 2002.

Betty is survived by her siblings, Lois Combest, Larry Sorenson, and Linda Bowers.  She was the loving mother of 6 children; Gary (Naomi) Rose, Ruth Ann (Mike) Perkins, Connie McMonigle, Eileen Lopez, John (Janet) Rose, and David (Anita) Rose.  She had 23 grandchildren, 46 great grandchildren, and 10 great-great grandchildren.

Betty worked hard and loved to do handy work.  She was known for her beautiful embroidery, crochet, and quilting work.  She loved to play games and had a green thumb.  She especially had a knack for growing roses.

She will be remembered for her devotion to her family. Funeral services will be held Thursday, December 4, 2014...in Pleasant Grove." (**Grandma's birth date was often disputed, as she was born right at/near midnight. Although her birth certificate says she was born on the 24th, she always celebrated it on the 25th.)

My cousin Mysti painted the rose on the casket

There was a viewing for Grandma before the funeral, and I was so grateful for the opportunity to be with family that I haven't seen in over 10 years. It was a nice reunion for me seeing so many cousins in one place. I am ashamed to admit that I haven't seen most members of my Rose family for 12+ years. I remember when our family lived in Ogden when I was in the 3rd grade, and it was so awesome to be close to Grandma and all my cousins in Pleasant Grove. We had always lived in other states before that, and I didn't know any of my cousins until then. When our family moved to Tremonton the next year, we didn't go to Grandma's house as often, and I remember making genealogy charts quite frequently that showed all the branches of Grandma and Grandpa's posterity so that I would remember everyone's names and how I was related to them. I was so happy to finally know so many members of my extended family, and even though I didn't grow up in Pleasant Grove like the majority of my cousins did, at least I felt connected to them through the charts that I made. Eventually, I graduated high school, went to college, got married, and moved even further away. The last Rose reunion I went to was the Christmas one in 1997. I have become disconnected to this family because of distance, and although I have kept in contact with some of my cousins and aunts and uncles, the majority of the cousins I have not seen since Grandpa's funeral in 2002. As more and more of my cousins showed up to the viewing, I tried to recall all of their names, I met newer spouses and also some of the great-grandchildren. I heard one of my cousin's kids saying "which of the Perkins girls is which?" after she looked at the program that named my sisters and I as the musical number. I instantly told her who was who, and felt a little sad that everyone else seemed to know everyone so well, as they all grew up together, but we have always been the outsiders because we never lived there. When my grandpa and grandma built their house, they bought an acre to put it on, then as their children grew up, they separated the acre into 4 lots, so each of the sons could also build a house right by them. I've always appreciated that they understood the importance of having family close by, and that they purchased the ground for their own house with the foresight to include their family in the future.  But my grandparents also knew that when their daughters married, they would go where their husbands had jobs, and that's exactly what they did. I love my Rose family, and cherish all the memories I have with them; I'm just sad that I don't have more! Because it's been so long since I've seen them, and it will probably will be a long time before I see them all again, I took lots of pictures to help me remember my cousins better!

Ashley, Patrick, Shayne, Shayne's daughter, Caleb, and Kenny

Mick, Patrick, Patrick's wife, Jamie, Angie, Ashley's son, Riley

Back row: Cody, BreAnne, Kelly, Kayce, Kayce's husband
Front row: Eileen, Connie, Aunt Linda, and someone I don't know

Front row: Jordan, Dustin, Dustin's wife, Mysti, Anita's mom, Anita, Lacey

Uncle Gary, Kenny's wife, Melissa, someone I don't know, & Uncle David

The funeral was nice: Mick gave the opening prayer, Kayce spoke, my sisters and I sang, Angie spoke, the Bishop gave remarks, and Kenny said the closing prayer. Kayce gave a life sketch of Grandma, and talked about so many of her choice memories; she did an amazing job! One of the most memorable parts of that talk was when she said "Grandma and Grandpa weren't always active in the church, but they were always active in the gospel". My sisters and I sang one of Grandma's favorite songs: "In the Garden". Tawna sent me a link to the song as Elvis performed it, and we instantly knew why Grandma had loved that song so much (she was a huge fan of Elvis)! Unfortunately, Tawna got strep throat and Tabbi got laryngitis, so our plans for how we would sing it got changed at the last minute. Thankfully, Tawna was still able to play the piano for us, and Tabbi switched to the alto part and I sang soprano during the verses and came up with a 2nd soprano part for the chorus as Trina sang soprano during the chorus. We practiced it over and over that morning until we felt good about it. Even though we made some small errors while performing it, I was so grateful that we were able to do it. Angie talked about memories with grandma as well, and how grandma was a good example of sharing her love with others and living selflessly. Something that stood out to me during her talk was when she said that every memory we each have with grandma is a blessing and a gift from Heavenly Father. The Bishop gave some nice comments, and I liked how he said that every moment in this life we are either teaching or learning, and how Grandma was always teaching by example. I really felt the peace and comfort of the Holy Spirit during the funeral. 

After the funeral, we headed to the nearby Pleasant Grove cemetery for the burial, and were blessed to have such beautiful weather in December! Uncle John gave the dedicatory prayer, and then the family hung around for a while, taking photos together, before eating the meal that the church women provided and going our separate ways. 

My mom looked so pretty in her nice, new black dress.

Mick and Cody outside the church,
donning their pallbearer bouttonnieres. 

My sisters and I: Tabbi, Trina, Me, and Tawna

All the grandson pallbearers: (Back row) Kenny, Kyle, Mick, Dustin
(Front row) Shayne, Patrick, Jordan, Cody (Jeramie couldn't come)

Seriously so blessed with the blue skies!

The bouquet that the grandchildren bought

I loved all the floral arrangements and how they all incorporated roses.

The Rose children (from oldest to youngest):
Gary, Ruth, Connie, John, David

My grandparents also adopted their foster daughter Eileen,
who joined the picture at the end!

A lot of the grandkids, and some of the great-grandkids, too.

I like to see the differences between my sisters and I at my grandparents' funerals, 12 years apart. I like that we're unknowingly standing in the same order, too!

My sisters and I at Grandma's funeral in 2014

My sisters and I at Grandpa's funeral in 2002

I'm grateful for the knowledge that families can be forever. I know that my grandma is with my grandpa again, and that they are happy together after being apart. I know I will see them again someday, too!