We held the service this morning at 11.
Then 8 of us carried him out and slid the casket into the bed of his 1 ton Dodge dually. We jumped in there with him, and took a ride around the ridge above Pleasantville where we used to hunt. Nineteen degrees and windy, but it’s Dave, and he’d have done the same for us.😀
Then on to the cemetery where he’ll rest beside The Old Man and Mom.
I sure wasn’t ready to say goodbye to my brother and hunting partner of 40 some years, but I’m sure he and Dad and a few of our Beagles are after the rabbits and the Deer on that Big Mountain that The Old Man spoke of hunting someday.
His youngest son Jake is now gonna be my partner since Ben lives 8 hours away. Jake’s a great young fellow, and i know he’s gonna have my back, just as I’ll always have his.
Goodbye Dave! I love you and I’ll treasure the memories we shared until I join you and The Old Man!
The torch is passed, and me and Jake are gonna carry on the tradition that you and I learned from Dad. I’ll miss you.
Reon
Never a good time to lose a Loved One.
Sounds like a nice service and a helluva send off. Your brother sounds like a good man and I wish I could’ve met him. God speed Dave.
7mmbuster ,
Condolences , I hope Brother Dave is resting peacefully.
Death of a loved one is always tough , God Bless You ...
Sounds like a good last ride👍👍
Sounds like a good last ride👍👍
👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Sounds lime you had a great bond with your brother..
My brother and I arent that close…
No ill will between us, just two totally different ppl with different interests…
We got to using our pickups when The Old Man died in 2010.
The Hearse fee was $300, and the cemetery was a half mile away!
So we slid the casket into Gue’s F-150 and we pall bearers hopped in and rode to the cemetery and carried him up the hill.
Everybody liked the idea, and a bunch of us made a pact that this was what we were gonna do.
This is the 4th one we done without a hearse! The undertaker loves the idea, and when he goes, Gue’s truck is already on reserve!😀
The ride around the ridge was me and Gue’s idea. It was cold, but we had fun and I’m sure Dave loved it!😀
Possibly a little tacky for some high brow folks, but our necks are red enough that we don’t care.
Funny thing I sorta noticed last night at the viewing. Gue and I were relating one of Dave’s more humorous exploits to a friend who had come in.
I looked over in the casket, and honest to God, I saw a little bit of a smirk on Dave’s face.
At the funeral, he looked peaceful and relaxed, but the smirk I saw last night was gone!😀
Reon
You are a good brother! Sounds like Dave was too.
Sorry for your loss.
Sorry for your loss. I loss my brother back in 2010. He was my hunting partner and the one that got me into hunting.
We got to using our pickups when The Old Man died in 2010.
The Hearse fee was $300, and the cemetery was a half mile away!
So we slid the casket into Gue’s F-150 and we pall bearers hopped in and rode to the cemetery and carried him up the hill.
Everybody liked the idea, and a bunch of us made a pact that this was what we were gonna do.
This is the 4th one we done without a hearse! The undertaker loves the idea, and when he goes, Gue’s truck is already on reserve!😀
The ride around the ridge was me and Gue’s idea. It was cold, but we had fun and I’m sure Dave loved it!😀
Possibly a little tacky for some high brow folks, but our necks are red enough that we don’t care.
Funny thing I sorta noticed last night at the viewing. Gue and I were relating one of Dave’s more humorous exploits to a friend who had come in.
I looked over in the casket, and honest to God, I saw a little bit of a smirk on Dave’s face.
At the funeral, he looked peaceful and relaxed, but the smirk I saw last night was gone!😀
Reon
You don't need some stranger driving your brother to his final resting place. That's a great way to operate.
LIKE !!!
God bless you Reon, and your brother Dave. Rare to be such wonderful brothers for life. God is with you both and Jake. By taking in Jake, you are doing good work. You are such a great brother.
Sorry for you and your family's loss of Dave. As for the send off, I like your style!
God's peace......sorry for your loss.
We got to using our pickups when The Old Man died in 2010.
The Hearse fee was $300, and the cemetery was a half mile away!
So we slid the casket into Gue’s F-150 and we pall bearers hopped in and rode to the cemetery and carried him up the hill.
Everybody liked the idea, and a bunch of us made a pact that this was what we were gonna do.
This is the 4th one we done without a hearse! The undertaker loves the idea, and when he goes, Gue’s truck is already on reserve!😀
The ride around the ridge was me and Gue’s idea. It was cold, but we had fun and I’m sure Dave loved it!😀
Possibly a little tacky for some high brow folks, but our necks are red enough that we don’t care.
Funny thing I sorta noticed last night at the viewing. Gue and I were relating one of Dave’s more humorous exploits to a friend who had come in.
I looked over in the casket, and honest to God, I saw a little bit of a smirk on Dave’s face.
At the funeral, he looked peaceful and relaxed, but the smirk I saw last night was gone!😀
Reon
Touching story! First class service!!
Lost a younger brother a few years back, it wasn't easy. His memory will always be with me.
JFC, you planted the wrong one! Take my brother Dave, please, and plant him deep. If he says he ain't dead yet, plant him anyway. He's either lying or will be dead after enough time under the sod.
RB
He got put away proper, sorry again for your loss. Starting age 60 I get regular junk mail from the Neptune Society, a pre-paid cremation outfit. I need to look into it.
That is a right proper send off. Kudos to you for doing what he would have liked.
Had a close friend and hunting pard die a couple years ago. He had no family, just me and a couple other friends. His wishes were to be cremated and shot out of a cannon over his favorite hunting spot.
So guess what we did....
![[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]](https://i.imgur.com/iynk1hA.jpg)
Might not be a bad idea.
I have not made any permanent arrangements, but I have left my family know what I wish to be done if I should happen to suddenly go to room temperature!😀
Cheapest possible cremation, and stick me in a mason jar to be pitched off that “Big Rock” on the mountain where we always hunted..
I hated doing this in January weather. Bitter cold, and a four inch heavily crusted snow and ice made for treacherous walking up that hill with a heavy casket.
We all felt a little self conscious, getting dressed up and putting on heavy winter boots.😀
There were 8 of us pall bearers, which is tricky with 8 feet in the length of 7 or 8 feet of space, especially with ice under foot
If it becomes necessary again, I think maybe I’ll rent a snowblower and make a path ahead of time.
Reon
I love the idea of a cannon! Maybe the idea of taping a 1/4 stick to the jar would work without the bouther a renting and moving a cannon!😀
I had a cousin near Oakland CA whose request was to be cremated and her ashes scattered in a local Bay.
Her funeral party were warned that in California, it’s against the law to simply dump anyone’s ashes.
No difference at all between scattering ashes or illegally dumping a corpse!
I know CA does some crazy crap, but the lack of common sense in this case is astounding!🤬
Reon
Sounds like a good last ride👍👍
Amen
Thanks for sharing, That was a touching story.
RIP brother Dave, happy hunting.
Very sorry for your loss, but sounds like a great send off.