My Uncle Delon’s interment took place this afternoon at the Cleveland, Idaho cemetery (interestingly, if you do a search on Google for Cleveland Idaho my writeup about the cemetery is the top link returned). It was a cold, breezy day but the weather had definitely cooperated. The family gathered at Uncle Ross’s home in Cleveland starting around noon for a lovely lunch prepared by Aunt Leone and her daughters Marianne and Kathy (I sure hope these names are spelled right!). More than thirty people were there and it was good to renew and make acquaintances. A little before three we all arrived at the cemetery to find everything in order and ready. The snow had been pushed away to provide plenty of space for parking and to clear the area around the grave. Delon was buried close to his parents and next to the plot where my mother and dad will be buried (their headstone is already in place). A goodly group were in attendance for the dedication of the grave (I was asked to perform that Priesthood Ordinance by the family) after which we dispersed for home. All ceremony associated with the death and burial of a loved one is now complete for Uncle Delon. It’s difficult for me to wrap my brain around the fact that in this lifetime we will not do anything more together.

The burial was handled by Webb Funeral Home in Preston, definitely one of the more professional funeral homes in this part of the world. After the grave dedication, the funeral director told Uncle Ross and me that they really had a set of work to make the burial possible on time. When Delon’s body was delivered to the funeral home late yesterday (Friday) afternoon, they discovered that the casket was an oversized casket, which the funeral home in Las Cruces hadn’t told them. That meant that the hole in the cemetery was too small and the vault that had been delivered and set up at the gravesite was also too small. They finally located a properly sized vault in Idaho Falls which was delivered to the cemetery about noon today. The backhoe had to come back to the cemetery to enlarge the hole … and move more snow out of the way because of the new arrangement. The vaults have the deceased person’s name and birth and death dates on the top of the vault. The new lettering arrived about 1:30 p.m. to be bolted onto the top of the vault. Finally everything was in order for a 3 p.m. burial. When we arrived at the cemetery, there was no indication of what the Webb Mortuary went through to make this interment problem free. That’s what professionals do and I certainly give kudos to them. My thoughts and prayers are with Nelma as she now begins a new (and completely unexpected) chapter in her life.