Jim Meyers Minnesota Goodbye

Hello, last week between two Saturday weddings, I traveled to Minnesota for a memorial to my father-in-law Jim Meyers, a mass on Monday in St. Cloud and a military burial at Fort Snelling in St. Paul on Tuesday. Many of you may have read my previous blog posts about his life and/or his Montana memorial this past March. Jim passed away Feburary 23, 2007. Here are the links to those slideshows. Jim's Life and Jim's Montana Memorial. Even though we were only in Minnesota for a short time, we managed to include two family get-togethers. One on Geri's mom's side of the family and one on her father's side. The memorial mass held at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in St. Cloud was attended by extended family members and friends, while the burial at Fort Snelling was a small gathering of family including all four of Jim's daughter's Melani, Geri, Jackley and Vicki. Jim received a 21-gun salute and Taps were played by two buglers standing about 100 feet apart. It was quite an experience.
After a quick return to Denver, I photographed a beautiful, Colorado mountain wedding in Breckenridge. Check back soon for that blog post.
Then Geri and I left on a 16-hour road trip to Kalispell, Montana, which is about 60 miles south of the Canadian border, to pack up the house Jim lived in and settle his financial affairs.
It has been a tough week spent cleaning out the house room by room as well as the garage and preparing boxes of items to be sold at an auction. We did take time to attend a dedication ceremony for a new veteran's memorial on the Fourth of July. Jim was a proud WWII veteran and would have felt great appreciation at the unveiling of a bronze statue depicting a soldier kneeling at a grave marked by a gun, boots, helmet and dog tags.
We were all too worn out to see a fireworks show that evening, but for about two hours it sounded like we were in a war zone because of all the fireworks shooting off around the neighborhood and larger displays exploding in the distance. If you would like to see a slideshow of Jim Meyers Minnesota Goodbye.CLICK HERE: Jim Meyers Minnesota Goodbye All of our slideshows require flash player. Download a free version here: flash player.
In case you are keeping score, I photographed two weddings, two funerals, and two road trips in two weeks! As if that's not enough, this Sunday, July 8, (and also the day we drive home to Denver) is Geri and my 13th wedding anniversary. We were married at St. Matthew's Catholic Church in Kalispell. It's a powerful feeling to live long enough to experience such circles of life.
I hope everyone had a great Fourth of July! Check back as I will be posting more about our trip to Montana soon.
Cheers, Kent