Papaw's Funeral

The funeral was held on Tuesday, January 19th, 2016. I can honestly say that it was one of the hardest if not the hardest day of my life. Visitation the night before was very hard but it was it was the first time I have seen him in his air force attire he was so handsome. It was very hard for me to leave the funeral home that night. Jake put together a slide show with pictures that people had sent. It was BEAUTIFUL. It was a wonderful reflection of his life and truly showed that his joy was found in family. The funeral service itself was as nice as it could be for a funeral. There were 3 songs sang, my dad (John W. Eaton Rochelle) delivered the obituary, I wrote and gave the eulogy, and Brother Curtis Howard delivered the sermon. Brother Howard did a great job, he mentioned Mamaw too and the love and influence that she had on his life. I had practiced for the eulogy and thought I was prepared but as I approached and glanced to see Michael crying, I got choked up. Jake was prepared to take over and I motioned for him to come but somehow, his presence near me gave me the strength to continue. At the graveside, he was met with 10 members of the air force saluting him as his shiny, blue casket was removed from the hurst. There was a trumpet played, 7 members of the military fired off 3 shots giving him a 21 shot salute, and 2 young airmen folded the flag that was atop his casket. Two of Lucille's sons were pall bearers along with Brent, Rob, Michael, and Jake. My heart was crushed as I watched my brother, husband, and 2 brother in laws place the white roses on top of the casket. It was even harder to leave the graveside than the funeral home. I was not ready for him to be put inside the ground or to say bye yet. I love that man so much! During the service, Brother Howard described Brother William (Papaw) as steady and stable. As I have thought about those two words, he is exactly right, Papaw was a steady and stable force in my life. I never doubted that he loved me. Our Papaw spent his life cheering us on, now he becomes a silent guardian and forever in our hearts. The next two days will be some of the most difficult for our family. There are few greater men than this and we are blessed to call him our Papaw. We could not love him more and we always knew he loved us and our families (attending all he could, lunch dates, throwing the softball, texting, birthday cards, and a visit anytime we were in town.I will forever be grateful for the last two weeks that I had with him, I felt the tender mercies and miracles of the Lord.