A day after Tracy died, Grandma Orando died. She is Don's biological grandma. Don's mother left him with her intending that she would raise him right before she died. Instead he ended up in a group home. But that is another story. I asked Don how long he lived with her. She came and lived with his family when Don's mom was still alive, several times. She had a huge impact on his life. I think he was closer to her than most grand children are to their grandparents. She distanced herself from him when he joined the church at 17. So I only met her twice. But Don has some great stories about her.
We drove straight from Las Vegas to San Diego on Sunday. The catholic funeral was held on Wednesday. Don's family was busy before the funeral so we just visited with them on Wednesday at the wake after the funeral. There is a lot going on with his family right now.
The highlight of the trip was when Don's aunt Nancy gave Don all the pictures his grandma had kept of Don's family. There were tons of them. Don has few pictures from his childhood. These pictures mean more to him than most anything. He has put them in a special place to keep them safe and calls them the "Arc of the Covenant". With the pictures was a little jewelry box with a couple of necklaces in it. Grandma had written, "Last gift from Patti" on it. I am so happy that Nancy gave all of these things to Don. We have been trying to get copies of these pictures for years.
My big mistake came when I wore a bright flowery skirt and white shirt to the Catholic funeral. It wasn't until we came out of the cathedral and I saw everyone dressed in black that I remembered that everyone wears black to a funeral. Whoops. I stood out like a sore thumb. It already puts strain of the family that we are Mormons. So, not good.
We drove straight from Las Vegas to San Diego on Sunday. The catholic funeral was held on Wednesday. Don's family was busy before the funeral so we just visited with them on Wednesday at the wake after the funeral. There is a lot going on with his family right now.
The highlight of the trip was when Don's aunt Nancy gave Don all the pictures his grandma had kept of Don's family. There were tons of them. Don has few pictures from his childhood. These pictures mean more to him than most anything. He has put them in a special place to keep them safe and calls them the "Arc of the Covenant". With the pictures was a little jewelry box with a couple of necklaces in it. Grandma had written, "Last gift from Patti" on it. I am so happy that Nancy gave all of these things to Don. We have been trying to get copies of these pictures for years.
My big mistake came when I wore a bright flowery skirt and white shirt to the Catholic funeral. It wasn't until we came out of the cathedral and I saw everyone dressed in black that I remembered that everyone wears black to a funeral. Whoops. I stood out like a sore thumb. It already puts strain of the family that we are Mormons. So, not good.
No comments:
Post a Comment