In Memory of Jerry

It's been a very sad time for Barb, a lady I've worked with now for 14-years and have gotten very close to.  Her husband, Jerry became very ill quickly with cancer and just passed away the day after Christmas.  She decided to have the memorial services a few weeks after the New Year after things have settled a bit.  It's been a very, very difficult time for her so I've tried to help her as much as I could.  Today is his burial at sea which I'm going to attend.  I've never been to a burial at sea and it was absolutely beautiful for him.

Here is a memory board that I helped Barbara make in Memory of Jerry.  This one represents his life all the way from childhood to adult.  It was very emotional for Barb to put this together but she was joyed with all the wonderful memories they've shared.

This is another board I made for her which showed his life with all of their American Legion Family.  Good times they had with Murph, Jerry's nickname.  It was an honor to have put all this together for Jerry and his family.  

This is on the 70 ft. yacht that was loaned by one of Jerry's Marine friends that owns a yacht company.  Boy do these Marines stick together.  You can just see the bond that they have and it's pretty amazing!  This wreath was given to Barb from us at R&B and made of all biodegradable products.  It had a paper mache basket for his ashes to float out to sea.  It was beautiful!  The whole service on the amazing on the yacht and it was  just so peaceful and on a perfect day for him.  I learned a lot about burials at sea.  There were a few boats with lots of family and friends also.  After she let the wreath go, all the boats with friends and family all threw in flowers, then we circle around the wreath 3 times.  This tradition came about in the olden days when it wasn't ashes and it was just the body.  They had to make sure that it sank to the bottom.  I know this doesn't sound that great, but it's just a little history for those who do not know like myself.    All in all it was just breathtaking and exactly what he wanted.

This is Barbara and her two daughters, from left to right, Laura and Marty.  Lovely ladies!  Barbara did a superb job organizing all this for Jerry!  She loved him very much and he will be very missed!