Day 131

The day started early. Tony called about 2:20 in the morning to say that the end was near. We got up and dressed as fast as we could and went to the home. We were a little too late. Dad died less than 10 minutes before we got there. We spent about two hours with the body, praying and crying. After that we all went home for a few hours of much needed sleep.

We got up about three hours later. Tony took Mom to Mass and then to breakfast. While they were gone Dan and I tried to figure out what arrangements needed to be made. When they got home we divided up labors. Tony took on arranging the times for the services and determining the gravesite. The gravesite question was complicated because we couldn't get confirmation that Dad would be allowed in the Greek portion of the cemetary.

In the mean time Dan and I work with Mom on locating necessary paperwork and making decisions about the funeral arrangements. After going as far with this as we could we went to the funeral home for a talk. There were a couple of things we needed clarified and there were papers to sign. We spent hours there discussing info for the death certificate, choosing options like the casket and flowers and setting the burial time. This was a big deal because the time has to be approved by the cemetary. Not knowing the burial site made this difficult.

It all worked out in the end. Tony called with firm times for the service and confirmation that Dad could be buried in the Greek section. We left with a whole bunch of to do items including returning tomorrow to finalize the decisions and going to the cemetary to finalize the burial details.

After that we went to White Elephant and bought the kids some toys. I bought them toy shotguns. We returned to a dinner that a neighbor lady had cooked for us. It was delicious. I got stuck with cleaning up.

After dinner Tony went off on a mysterious mission. Something about wiring money to his boyfriend. The rest of us went to Shopko for some retail therapy. The kids each scored several new toys. I bought Dan an early birthday present. It was a slot car set that he really wanted and that Julia would never let him buy.

We got a lot accomplished today. There's more to do tomorrow, but it should be easier. I should be able to get home in time to close on the house.