This past weekend was the Celebration of Life for Gary's Mom, Jewell C. Richards Smith. Several months ago Mom shared with Gary and I that she did not want a funeral and that she definitely did not want anyone looking at her and saying how good she looked. She wanted a party, a celebration, a time when her loved ones could come together and remember the good times. So that is exactly what we did! We had a party! It was a time for family and friends to come together and share their great memories of Mom and the impact she had on each of their lives with each other. It was a time to share with family and friends some of Mom's favorite hymns sung by Fred Williams and Doug Scarbrough, two people she loved to sit and listen to.
We chose a color scheme of pink and lavender for the celebration as Mom really looked good in these two colors but she would never buy them for herself, so I always did. Marla at Petal & Presents did a wonderful job with the tables and flowers. The table with Mom's picture on it had a dozen long stem pink roses and the centerpieces for each table were mason jars with pink and lavender flowers and pink rose petals sprinkled around on each table. We thought the mason jars were just right thing for the flowers with Mom being from Missouri and that she would like it if we gave the centerpieces to Uncle Darrel and Aunt Sue, Uncle Bobby and Aunt Sharon, Aunt Carol, Mom's ladies Lois, Thelma, Jo and Margaret, Jeannette and Diann(two wonderful friends who sat with Mom on Monday evenings), Betty Pendola and to my sister Nellie.
We sat up two tables in the back with things that Mom had crocheted over the years.
There were other memento's; a book Gary and I had given her,
items she brought us from the Holy Land,
and a book Kyton, her granddaughter, had given her for her 90th birthday.
Gary also put together two picture collages of Mom showing her life through the years from 1944 until March 2012.
Everyone so enjoyed hanging out looking at the pictures, the memento's and all the beautiful items she had crochet.
And of course there had to be some food otherwise it would not have been a celebration. We had thought at first to make the celebration a potluck, Mom always enjoyed a good potluck, but decided against that as we wanted everyone to come and not have to worry about bringing something to share. So we contacted Kristy, owner of Hometown Emporium, a favorite restaurant of Mom's, and she prepared a selection of sandwiches, salads, fruit trays, veggie trays and cookie trays that had every ones taste buds watering.
What better conclusion to the weekends celebration than to have Sunday dinner at The Sizzler in Visalia. This restaurant was Mom's absolute favorite and she so enjoyed the salad bar with its Fried Okra and Macaroni & Cheese. So after Sunday morning worship service, Gary, myself, my brother L Z and his wife Debbie headed to The Sizzler to enjoy the salad bar and of course have some Fried Okra for Mom.
Mom was a beautiful person who loved God, her family and her friends. We miss her everyday but we have the assurance that we will see her again when we complete our journey to our heavenly home.
There were other memento's; a book Gary and I had given her,
items she brought us from the Holy Land,
and a book Kyton, her granddaughter, had given her for her 90th birthday.
Gary also put together two picture collages of Mom showing her life through the years from 1944 until March 2012.
Everyone so enjoyed hanging out looking at the pictures, the memento's and all the beautiful items she had crochet.
And of course there had to be some food otherwise it would not have been a celebration. We had thought at first to make the celebration a potluck, Mom always enjoyed a good potluck, but decided against that as we wanted everyone to come and not have to worry about bringing something to share. So we contacted Kristy, owner of Hometown Emporium, a favorite restaurant of Mom's, and she prepared a selection of sandwiches, salads, fruit trays, veggie trays and cookie trays that had every ones taste buds watering.
What better conclusion to the weekends celebration than to have Sunday dinner at The Sizzler in Visalia. This restaurant was Mom's absolute favorite and she so enjoyed the salad bar with its Fried Okra and Macaroni & Cheese. So after Sunday morning worship service, Gary, myself, my brother L Z and his wife Debbie headed to The Sizzler to enjoy the salad bar and of course have some Fried Okra for Mom.
Mom was a beautiful person who loved God, her family and her friends. We miss her everyday but we have the assurance that we will see her again when we complete our journey to our heavenly home.
Angel's Parasol Hydrangea
May it's beauty remind you that guardian angels are watching over you!
There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
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