Memorial Service at Connecticut Veterans' Cemetery

Yesterday we had a memorial service for our beloved Ninny and Papa at the Connecticut Veterans' Cemetery.  It had been a long time coming.  Five years ago, we lost Papa to Cancer, and we held onto his ashes in our home.  We had talked about making the Connecticut Veterans' Cemetery his final resting place, but in the end, it seemed that the entire family was struck with too much grief to think about it.  Instead, we had a nice funeral service and a small gathering to honor him.

This year, with Ninny's passing, it seemed that having the memorial service at the Veterans' Cemetery was the perfect choice, particularly with the pandemic.  We were told that the service would be held outside, and the capacity would be limited to 50 people (with masks and social distancing).  For us, a 50 person capacity was plenty, and in the end, we probably had more like 30 family and friends come to pay their final farewells.

The ceremony was brief but touching.  Two young service members prepared us for the three volleys fired, each bullet representing the words duty, honor, and country.   After the shots were fired, the men unfolded and refolded the American Flag, saluted it, and gave it to my husband.  Then, my husband thanked everyone for coming and read a poem to honor his parents' memory.  (He had tried very hard to write a eulogy for his mom, but in the end, her quick death was just too fresh and painful; he was too sad to do it!)

Having this ceremony really felt like it was "meant to be."  It's as if we held Papa's ashes just long enough until the two of them could be buried together.  Having met when she was fourteen and he was seventeen, they were lifelong soulmates, and although they broke up when he served in the Navy for three and a half years, they instantly reconnected after his return.  Their love for each other had only become more amplified through the years; and, indeed, they shared the same value of always placing family first.  They lived for their children and grandchildren just as much as they lived for each other.

They will be missed, but their legacy of fun, friends, and family will stay with us...
until we meet again.