Farewells and Family time

 On the afternoon of July 6 Josh got a text from his mom that his Dad was not doing so well.  We had a full week ahead of us, but Josh immediately started considering the possibility of heading to Idaho at some point.  Later that evening he called his brother Barry, who was on his way home from Pocatello and was able to give Josh a more detailed update.  He said his Dad might make it through the night, but definitely wouldn't make it to Friday - which is when we were considering driving to Idaho.  That started a flurry of changes to plans.

We canceled our commitments for the week, which included Kenna, Natalie, and I not going to Girls Camp.  Sunday morning we got up early and started driving to Pocatello.  We had been on the road only 30 minutes when Sarah called us.  She had Nina with her on speaker phone and they told us that Darwin had passed away just before midnight.  We were saddened to have missed him, but not surprised.  We opted to continue on to Idaho, knowing that likely a service would be held during the week.

It ended up being a really wonderful week, in spite of the reason for the gathering.  One thing that was quite apparent was the miraculous nature of the timing of Darwin's passing.  Sarah was in town for her annual summer visit.  Barry is close.  Nathan was in Utah but preparing to head to Idaho anyway.  Jason was in between trips (heading to Thailand on the Friday following) and we were back from our Church History trip and not caught up in summer reunions that we were hosting later in July.  So the first miracle was that the entire group of siblings were able to easily congregate.  That is a rare opportunity and blessing.

The service was on Thursday.  Many friends from Ukiah, and many extended family members from all over Idaho, Utah, Arizona, and Oregon made the trek to join us.  It was a wonderful reunion with loved ones from years past.  The service was beautiful and perfect tribute to a great man who loved and was loved by many people throughout his life.