Wendy's Viewing & Funeral

Tuesday, July 12th--Last night was Wendy's viewing. It was held at the funeral home. Because she requested her body be donated to the U of U Medical Center, a casket was rented and she was dressed and "presented" just as if she was being buried. We set up a few tables full of various things in remembrance of Wendy. We were amazed at how many people had sent or brought flowers. They were so beautiful! Along with the flowers sent by Nate's company, we were touched to see flowers sent by my parents and my sister, Alishia. My other sister, Amanda, wanted to send something different so she did a huge chocolate chip cookie with a beautiful Hawaiian saying on it. Something our family requested, via her obituary, was that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. We were so happy and grateful a few people had made donations to the JDRF in her name.

Wendy looked so beautiful. During the day, Rosemary, Jenny and our SIL, Marissa, had gone to the funeral home to dress her, do her make-up and hair. They all did a great job! She even looked like she was smiling, in a way. We greeted many family, friends and her co-workers. We were told her passing was such a shock to her co-workers, grief counselors needed to be brought in. She was such a huge asset to the company she worked for. We would see co-workers come in their scrubs, straight from work, just to see if what they heard had been real. They would look at her and leave in tears. It was heartbreaking to watch. The day before she passed away she had done some work in the morning.

Later in the evening, Jenny told me something she had been watching Brady do. I hadn't noticed but she did. As she sat on a couch, close to the casket, she noticed Brady would periodically walk up to Wendy and just look at her for a moment then he would leave. He did this several times. At one point she asked him to come over to her. She asked why he kept going up to Wendy, look at her, and then walk away again. He told her whenever he went up to her she would talk to him. He couldn't see her lips move but he could hear her voice. Jenny asked what Wendy told him. He said she would say, "I love you, Brady!" Of course this got me emotional! But I am so thankful he had those special moments and I pray he remembers them for the rest of his life.

Her funeral was held at the LDS ward building she had her records in. Her parents are also in this ward. The funeral home brought all the flowers and displayed them beautifully. We had an hour before the funeral for another viewing. We were greeted by many more family members, who were not able to make it to the viewing the night before. Fifteen minutes before the funeral began, we closed off the room from visitors and it was just her family. Her casket was closed and Nate's brother, Dustin, said a beautiful prayer. I had held it together quite well up until then. From then on it was waterworks the rest of the funeral. We escorted her casket to the chapel where beautiful words and music were expressed on her behalf.

At the end of her funeral, the pallbearers, which consisted of her brothers and the two oldest nephews, took her casket to the foyer for the men from the funeral home to take her back. This part had many of us break down. Elise and Kayla cried uncontrollably, which broke many hearts. It took some time to be calm and composed again. We were blessed to have a luncheon provided by ward members. It was a delicious spread of ham, funeral potatos, salads, rolls and desserts. After we were full, Dustin had each of us be videotaped remembering some fond memories we personally had of Wendy.

Back in 2009, my grandma passed away. At her burial plot we did a balloon launch. Everyone received a balloon and we all let them go together. For several minutes we watched those balloons rise above us into the blue sky. It was an amazing experience! I asked if I could provide that same experience at the end of Wendy's funeral. Our family happily accepted the idea. Rosemary wanted us to launch the balloons from a special place in the hills above their house. Her other request was that they be pink, since that was Wendy's favorite color. I ordered 2 dozen balloons in various colors of pink. We picked them up before the funeral. The various pink colors together were breathtaking--so gorgeous! We all made our way up to Rosemary's special spot. Everyone got a balloon, even the little ones. Together we all said "We love you and miss you Wendy!", then they were launched. Just as the experience at my grandma's funeral, it was an amazing thing to watch those balloons rise up. It was a very long time before we couldn't see them anymore. The sky was blue with a few clouds. The clouds made it easier to see the balloons even when they were so far up in the sky. Many of our frowns turned to smiles watching those balloons.

We went back to Dan and Rosemary's house afterwards. We all relaxed for a while. Along with the many snacks and meals sent from gracious neighbors, I also broke open the large cookie my sister sent. We nibbled and munched for a while then decided to head home. We took home the beautiful flowers from Nate's company and my family. We also took the spray of flowers that was on Wendy's casket. I volunteered to dry all the gorgeous pink roses on the spray so everyone could have some preserved as a remembrance.