Celebration of a Life Well Lived

We had Les' celebration of life service last Saturday.  Les planned this service over the past several months with his friend Pastor Ben.  When our kids and I met with the funeral home, we were so thankful that Les had prepared so many things ahead of time for us.  His doing so certainly made our first several days much easier than they could have been.

Saturday was a rainy, dark day.  After a couple of weeks of beautiful sunshine, the rain was welcome, but it did make for a dreary service.  The Friday night before we had a short viewing, mainly for our brothers and sisters.  A few close friends had expressed a desire to say goodbye, so they were also present.  We had the burial before the service on Saturday morning, and we kept that private also.  The graveside service was tough for me.  I guess it's the finality of it all.  A friend had suggested we drop our red "Team Kooistra ALS" bracelets (that we all have been wearing) on the casket, so we did that.  Some had faded to white.  A very memorable moment.  My grandson dropped mine for me.

Our church was full when we arrived.  What an overwhelming sight!  Several UPS supporters were there in their brown uniforms (on a Saturday!!!) and a UPS truck was at the entrance of the church.  What a great support.  As I mentioned, Les planned the service, so we can blame him for the length :)

Our kids and I would like to thank everyone who made this day so special.  Pastors Clay and Mike who prayed and read scripture.  Jami Jo who did such a great job singing; Mitch & Rochelle whose song was beautiful.  The men's praise team who were so energetic and the songs were so uplifting.  Ranae, whose prayer/song was perfect.   Dallas who was on the piano - amazing!!  Brothers Howard & Gawin who did a great job with the Psalm 103 reading.  And Pastor Ben whose message was exactly what Les wanted - a message about salvation and hope in Jesus Christ.  (We do have copies of the service if anyone would like one - just let one of us know.)

Niece Emily worked so hard on the programs and the music CD of Les' favorite songs that Les wanted to hand out at the service.  (FYI we are making more CD's - let one of us know if you would like one).  Cousins Tim and Tammy put together the picture video after Leslie and Hannah spent hours sorting through pictures. 

Les' sister Linda and others put up the picture display in the foyer of the church.  Les' dear friend Rose from the cafe where he and Ben had coffee every Friday morning made the sandwiches and fruit.  The women of our church provided the cookies.  Our friends and family helped with cleanup.

 Our daughter Leslie's mother-in-law Lori provided a ham dinner at our house after the viewing on Friday night.  About 40 people ate that yummy dinner!  My friend Barb brought dinner on Saturday night for our family - about 50 people were here for that.   All the cards and flowers/plants/trees we have received - again we are overwhelmed!  All the messages on my phone and the messages on Facebook - I cannot return them all!  But I have read them all and so appreciate your reaching out to me and my family.

God is still good.