It was the best funeral ever! Can you say that about a funeral? I hope so because we have heard it over and over from many sources. We all feel the same. Here are a few things that made it special:

All of you!! I was stunned to see such a crowd of family and friends – I will probably miss a few states but off the top of my head we saw loved ones who came from CA, OR, WA, UT, NV, ID, AZ, NM, TX, TN, MN, IL, PA, VA and Washington DC. If I missed your state let me know. I know of late night flights from Oregon and an entire family from Washington who drove through the night when they realized their plane ticket purchase had failed!! Two of MY college roommates who live out of state were there! It seemed that every time I looked up I was seeing someone new and I wondered at their sacrifice of time and money to come and pay respects to Mark. It is also heartwarming to see the love and support from our new hometown. This all gave me such a boost when I really needed it! Thank you!

After the funeral I have received many texts and messages from friends who were not able to attend but watched with us via livestream. Wow – thank you! If you missed it and still care to join please click the link on his obituary, it is still available. https://walkermemorials.com/obituary/mark-morris-andrus/

I’ll say it again and again – relationships mean everything. Thank you!

All of Mark’s posterity joined me at the funeral home to make plans for the funeral. It was great to have that support and we came home and put the program together. We wanted to keep it traditional as well as personal, a real tribute for Mark. It helps that we have an organist, a soloist and great speakers in the family. Nathan gave the eulogy and his three brothers spoke at the funeral and graveside. Sisters-in-law were there to offer prayers, play the organ and sing Amazing Grace at the graveside. If you know our family you will know that it was Brenda who sang – Mark first heard her sing Amazing Grace at his sister’s funeral 20+ years ago and has planned on that ever since.

Mark and his brothers often sing together as well – initially we penciled this into the program… until we realized Mark’s voice would be missing. Though they may sound just fine, his absence would be felt and that wouldn’t be pleasant. Therefore we made a decision that, to me, made a huge difference for the day. Mark loved to sing congregational hymns – particularly when everyone around him was singing out (which doesn’t always happen does it?). So we chose to ask the congregation to join in and sing together – We chose hymns that would best represent Mark: Scatter Sunshine, True to the Faith, and I Know That My Redeemer Lives.

Mark’s brother John spoke just before we sang our first two hymns so that he could encourage everyone to sing out. He also told us that during the course of Mark’s cancer they had texted almost daily. Mark had written to John that if his illness and suffering and possible death helped even one person to come unto Christ, it would all be worth it to him. His brother Danny shared excerpts from many letters that Mark had written to him while they were young adults – it was as though Mark were there, contributing to the funeral. Mike shared many of his own memories at the graveside and it was fun to remember Mark and Mike hanging out together – this was during the time that we met and began to date. I thought that I would cry throughout Nathan’s eulogy, but instead I felt an inner strength and smiled quite often.

We wanted a memory table but most of Mark’s memorabilia is packed away for construction. I hope that everyone that came will remember the tall wooden bowl full of peanut M&Ms. This was Mark’s favorite candy by far – and he almost always had a container in his office. When he refused to eat in the hospital I could sometimes slip him a handful and he would eat them without thinking. When you eat peanut M&Ms you can think of Mark – and it was not until his funeral that I noticed his initials – Mark Morris – M&M…. (Sidenote – when we lived in Oregon [25-30 years ago] our friend Nedra used to leave bags of M&Ms on our front porch when it was someone’s birthday… what a fun surprise to step outside just a day or two after Mark’s passing and find a bag of peanut M&Ms on our front porch!! She still lives in Oregon but apparently she has connections in Utah. And her face was amongst those that made me smile at the funeral.)

As we planned the funeral services we had our wonderful women from church begin to ask how they could help with the family dinner. Immediately we think of ham and “funeral potatoes” which we all love – but it just didn’t seem quite right for Mark. We considered a taco bar or other Mexican food… then I remembered that one of our neighbors had recently served some of the best smoked brisket that I have ever eaten… they were incredibly kind enough to smoke oh-so-much brisket so that there was plenty for all of us and many of us brought it home. We ate it for several meals the following week. All of the food was delicious and plentiful and it was so nice to have time to visit with family and friends. Thank you!!

It really was the best funeral ever! Mark would have loved it – and I am sure he did.