@KatTimpf @TheGutter @tomshillue @Big_un @GGsister1
and my dear friends

the funeral was today. The weather cooperated nicely. It was a little cooler and there was very low humidity today which is unusual. many of my friends came and my “adopted family from here in Chicago” were there so I had a whole lot of support. The service in the chapel was really beautiful. My pastor is a wonderful man who is very uplifting and very kind and did a wonderful job. My adopted nephew spoke and did a very eloquent job as well. I even got up to say a few words and made it through. Everyone there said it was the nicest service they had ever been to. I couldn’t remember to tell you what I even said, but they told me that I held together well and I could even be a public speaker. The service at the cemetery was completely amazing. Joe got his full military honors with the 21 gun salute, flag presentation and a speech by a local veteran officer who had his service record and spoke of Joe’s experience in the military. He spoke of all the medals that Joe had earned, and there were many and the years he had served. He came to me more than once and said to me that Joe was a good soldier who loved his nation. It really meant something to me. the pastor spoke again, and it was really uplifting and wonderful. And again, my friends and adopted family said it was one of the most beautiful if not the most beautiful service they attended. For the most part I made it through, I definitely needed the Kleenex I brought. I was OK for the gun salute. I was OK for the speeches, but when they blew taps, and I knew things were winding up and I had to leave it took me a while to be able to get up and walk away. the flowers I found for his urn were beautiful, and my dearest friends here got together and bought me an enormous basket plant of lilies. his sister also sent a beautiful arrangement. I do have a sense of relief now that the vessel that carried him in life was treated with such respect and dignity, and I know that it now rests under an American flag in our crypt in an urn with the seal of the United States Army. There will also be a seal of the United States Army on the outside of the crypt. his soul is free and his vessel is protected from the elements from harm and he rests easy now. I wanna thank you all again for getting me to this point. It’s been tough although not all of the weight’s been lifted from me a great deal has and a lot of it has been friends like y’all. I will try to put a couple of pictures here that my friends took of the rifle squad and the flowers and his urn.