A Final Goodbye

Grandpa Arbon started declining quickly. His kidneys were failing and it was evident in his urine. He was no longer eating and he was very tired and weak. They brought in a hospital bed and hospice. Erin called the family together to say our last goodbyes because she knew the end was near. It was very sad and tender to see Grandpa lying there and Grandma there by his side. The cousins and family came and we spent some time together outside and took our turns with Grandpa. Then we all gathered in his room and sang "God Be With You Till We Meet Again".

That was Tuesday evening, and being the strong man that Grandpa is, it wasn’t until Sunday evening (Father’s Day) that he passed away. We were just leaving for dinner in Alpine to celebrate Father’s Day and Charlie’s birthday when we heard the news, so I dropped Jason and the boys off in Alpine and went to meet up with my family who went to see Grandpa before they took his body away. I arrived just in time and it was a special moment with them.

Thursday was his viewing. We arrived late because we were dealing with a popped tire from earlier that day. I ran over a huge screw-type thing and it went all the way through the rim. It was an expensive flat tire.

The little kids offered some joyful and entertaining poses:

The funeral was the next day in Taylorsville. It was beautiful and very heartfelt. Everyone had very sweet things to say about Grandpa. He was a very dedicated, strong, loyal, hard working, faithful, wise, and loving man. I loved all the of stories and the sweet memories. I gave the closing prayer. After the funeral we caravanned to Idaho to bury him at Teton Cemetery. We met George and Nancy off of the freeway to drop off the boys since we were not going to take them with us, and Bryan picked us up and drove us to Idaho. Well, he kind of drove us. The transmission of his truck failed when we reached Pocatello. Luckily, my cousin, Brock, and his wife, Liliana, were 30 minutes behind us and they were able to pick us up with just enough seats. We miraculously made it to the burial. The wind was blowing like crazy, up to 30 mph. It was nuts. It was a little hazy, but you could barely make out the Tetons in the distance. After the burial, we had dinner at a church that my mom’s sisters helped with. We ate, played Speed in the gym, and then headed back home. The Brinkers lent us an extra car to drive back in since the truck needed to be repaired in Pocatello. It worked out perfectly because Aarika would be driving from Salt Lake on Monday and could bring it home at that time. My family was actually able to go back on Sunday to get it and drop off the other car. I’m glad it all worked out. Car trouble is not fun!

By the time we pulled into Draper, it was midnight and the Phillips boys were there, so we chatted for a bit. Jason and I took Mark, Dan, and John home. We didn’t get home until 2:00 am. Luckily our boys were spending the night in Alpine. Jason and I slept in until 9:30 am (can’t remember the last time that happened) and went to pick up the boys. The events didn’t end there. We were headed back to Draper for a party for Charlie’s birthday, but I will talk about that in another post.

It is still surreal that Grandpa Arbon is gone. He was always so gentle and kind with me and he made me feel special. I knew he loved me. He was a quiet man, but so full of strength. I definitely miss him and wish I could turn back time and ask him more about his history. He had a big heart and he loved unconditionally. We are blessed to have known him and are blessed to know he is watching over us. Love you, Grandpa!