So this past weekend I got called out to do a graveside funeral for a gentleman I'd never met. Peter was described by his loved ones as "the life of the party," a guy who loved his family and kept adding to it with his friends.
I was standing with the family before the funeral proper began, hearing their stories and laughing about Peter's various shenanigans (I believe he could be appropriately described as "quite a card") when his daughter's eyes go huge. When I asked her what was wrong, she goes: "I forgot Dad!"
You see, Peter had been cremated back in VA where he had lived in retirement, he was only being buried here because this is where his wife was buried 13 years ago. His Daughter had bought the cremains up from VA but had left them at her grandmother's house in Green Bay, a full hour away from the cemetery.
It was a military burial with full honors, everyone assembled. There was no waiting for this funeral. So we went ahead and did it without him. First time I ever did a funeral where the deceased was a no show. But the kicker came when Peter's daughter told his mother.
"Grandma," she said, VERY embarrassed, "I forgot to bring Dad. His ashes are still at your house!"
"Well," the old lady said, not missing a beat, "I always said he'd be late for his own funeral."
I love my job.
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