Thursday, March 31, 2011


Picture Board in memory of MOM

Mom's Memorial Service ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ - March 13, 2011

Mar 4 – 12.... Pastor Steve came over in the afternoon and discussed Mom's service arrangements. Rod & Patty Morris and Russ and Cheryl Klette came by Dad's. Doug and Fran arrived the evening of the 4th. Dad, Doug, and I drove to Chinook on the 5th and met Denita and Steve at Edwards Funeral Home to make the arrangements. Mom was cremated as her request We also ordered flowers at Shore's Floral. From there we decided to go out to the farm. We spent the weekend going through pictures – we put together a slide show and a picture board for Mom's service. There was bunches of snow piled everywhere. We came back on Monday morning. Marge and Don arrived that evening. Danny flew in Tue afternoon. Mike was to have been with him but the flights were full. He ended up flying to LAS and then DEN and finally arrived at 1130p Tue. Russ, Cheryl, Marge, Don, Shirley, Doug and Fran were over for dinner at Dad's. Cheryl and Russ provided a wonderful spaghetti dinner. I took a fall on the ice when going to pick up Mike!
We left for the farm on Wed., the 9th. We got most everything set up at the church. Shelly and Jay arrived late in the day.
The Memorial Service on March 13th for Mom turned out really nice. We had 3 pastors – Steve, Cheryl and Rowlie as per Mom's request. All had lovely words to say. Ken Overcast sang and played his guitar...Granny's Mansion (his song) and Mansion on the Hillside. It was very special. The congregation sang I Was There to Hear You Bourning Cry and How Great Thou Art as were her request. I wrote a short Eulogy that was read by Pastor Cheryl. Approximately 200 people attended the service and 140 were served at the meal following. Due to the snow we will have the burial of the ashes this summer. Following the dinner we went to Wally and Loretta Becks to visit with relatives. We drove back to Great Falls on Friday the 11th. Marge and Don left for home on Sat. Dixie made phone calls to Insurance companies, etc to help Dad. Danny flys back on Sunday.

Mom at Missouri River Manor 2/23/2011

Mom on 1/29/11 while in the hospital

Mom's Long Road comes to an end

Feb 19 – Mar 3 ….Dixie flew back to Montana the afternoon of Feb 19th. She was able to visit Mom on Sunday. Denita and family were also there from Hogeland. Dixie got a haircut on the 24th and went to the dentist for a teeth cleaning on the 25th. She stayed with Dad and went to the Missouri River Manor to be with Mom daily. Mike flew up on the 24th. Doug, Fran and Danny decided to go on their trip to Purta Vallarta on the 24th. Mom's back and neck pain continued to get worse. The last day she was out of bed was Feb 22nd. It just caused too much pain. Jim and Diane came to visit on the 20th and Shirley and Shelly on the 26th. Pastor Steve made several visits to see Mom. On Sunday the 27th Mom told us that she was not going to make it. She talked to Doug, Danny and Marge on the phone and said her goodbyes. Denita came up on the 27th. I spent the night with Mom from the 27th to the 2nd. Denita stayed overnight with me from the 28th to the 2nd. Mom was not very coherent after 1st. By this time she just wanted to know 'how long it was going to take?' Mike flew back to Palm Springs early in the AM on the 3rd. Mom passed away peacefully at 515p on March 3rd. Denita and I had just left the room move items in the cars and I was headed to Doug’s house. I got Doug and Fran's tickets changed to fly back on the 4th.

Indian Waters Feb 10 – 18 ….We made the move to Indian Waters RV. Dixie stayed busy doing Haircuts. O the 12th we went to movie 'True Grit' with Danny and then over to Bill & Gloria's for burgers. On the 17th we got a call from Doug advising that Mom took a turn for the worse. She is not able to get up without excruciating back pain. Dixie made plans to fly back to Great Falls.

Wednesday, February 09, 2011

Wilderness Lakes - Menifee, CA & Montana

Jan 26- Feb 9....Mike drove to San Diego on the 28th to the golf tournament. He stayed with Ross for 2 nights and helped him at his booth and also saw a little golf. On the 31st Danny flew back to Ontario. Mike picked him up and they drove to Rancho Mirage where Mike overnighted with Danny. On the first Mike accidentally locked the keys in the car while filling up with fuel. $50 later he was on his way back to Menifee.
Mom continued to improve and was moved to a transitional care facility, Missouri River Manor on Tue. The 1st. She got settled in there and Dixie flew back on the 3rd. She had to fly into Orange County airport as flights were full to Ontario. She arrived at 830p. Friday was a rest up day! Saturday we drove the 27 miles into Marge's. We went to lunch with Marge, Don & Shelly and spent the afternoon visiting. Danny and Lexi stopped on their way back from Sea World and spent Saturday night with us. The also remained on Sunday and watched the Super Bowl with us. Dixie picked up a cold somewhere along the way and is feeling pretty lousy. Dixie talks to Mom daily and checks in on her progress. She is getting lots of occupational and physical therapy and continues to improve. We thank God daily for her progress.
We made a Walmart run on Tuesday. Dixie has a bad cold so we needed more drugs! Today, the 9th we move to Indian Waters RV park in Indio. We will stop at the Flying J on the way for fuel and propane.

Indian Waters - Indio, CA

Jan 12-25...Went to the movie Country Strong – good one! On the 14th we went to the FMCA RV rally, attending a class and wondering around the exhibits. On Friday the 14th we had Bill & Gloria, cousin Box Cox and Danny over for dinner. We enjoyed the afternoon visiting with Bob and had a wonderful evening. On the 17th we started helping Ross get ready for the golf tournament. Our first day of working the booth was Thur. the 20th. It was a long day but at least the weather was better this year. Friday was Dixie's 54th birthday. We spent the day working the tournament with the exception of a couple hours when Dixie went shopping. We found out that day that Mom was admitted to the hospital due to non-responsiveness and incoherence. The doctor found out that the ammonia level in her blood was very high. Dixie and Danny decided to fly back home. We left at 430am on Sat. to pick up Danny and then headed to the Ontario airport (flights we full out of Palm Springs). They arrived in Great Falls around 430p (had a slight delay in Denver where on take off the airplane windshield cracked). Mom was not in good shape when we saw her. She did start improving about 4-5 days later. The doctor had to give her & continues to give her lactulose, a form of laxative in order for her liver to work properly. The only way to remove excess ammonia from the blood is through excretion. She also had built up a lot of fluid that the doctor is trying to removed through medication.
While Dixie was gone Mike continued to help Ross at the Bob Hope golf tournament. On Wednesday, the 26th he moved the motorhome to our next park, Wilderness Lakes, in Menifee, CA.