Saying Goodbye to Grandma Beth

My paternal grandmother, Beth Rowley Culbertson Conrad, passed away at the age of 86 on Monday, March 1st. We attended her funeral services last Saturday, March 6th. The funeral was held in Ogden, Utah at Myers Mortuary with a viewing right before. Grandma looked beautiful laid out in her temple clothes. My cousin Amanda put together a photo slide show on DVD that was shown during the viewing. She did an amazing job! Amanda does photography and you can check out her website here. She does great work. It was so neat to be able to look at all the photos and just let the memories flow as we sat waiting for the services to start.

I was asked to play piano in a duet with my cousin's daughter, Valerie on the violin. We played 'Somewhere My Love' from Dr. Zhivago. My Grandma Beth had requested that song. I also played for the great grandchildren to sing 'I am a Child of God' and 'Love One Another'. The services included a life sketch read by my Aunt Betsy, a talk by my Aunt Cathy, a tribute written by my dad read by his wife Kathy, and my cousin LeeAnn read a memory that each of the grandchildren had written about Grandma Beth.

My Grandma Beth had been in a nursing home for a lot of years and hadn't been herself for a long time. It was so wonderful to listen to all the speakers and remember her in all her glory!

After the funeral services we all drove up to Lewiston, Utah to the cemetery. It was a little over an hour drive. The cemetery was covered with snow and the roads were muddy. It was so cold up there and we had forgotten to bring coats for the kids, so Nate and the kids waited in the Jeep while I went to the dedication of the grave. My Uncle Gary did the honors.

After the internment, we had a family dinner at a church in Lewiston. It was so fun to visit with all of my cousins on my father's side of the family. It has been years since I've seen most of them. I'm so grateful that they were all able to be there.

The pallbearers carrying Grandma to her final resting place.

Each of the children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren were given a white carnation to place on Grandma's coffin. Here my cousins Wendy, Justin, and Brad are placing theirs.

Me and my brothers and sisters

We love you Grandma Beth! We look forward to the day we will see you again!

It's been a long couple of weeks for us, with the deaths of Nate's Grandma Barnum and my Grandma Beth. But this experience has helped me to realize the legacies of these two exceptional women and has inspired me to live better and to honor their memories.