Farewell

The evening of the memorial, we all got together one last time for an impromptu dinner at the local Italian restaurant.

 Great to see everyone one last time.

We all enjoyed spending a bit more time together.

The "young" cousins.

Older cousins.

More cousins.

We had a wonderful dinner together.

We capped off our Gram celebration with Dexter losing his tooth.

The Reception

After the memorial, we headed to one of Gram's favorite spots, the Cortland Country Club for a reception. It was a wonderful time of remembering and reunions. 

We enjoyed gathering in such a lovely spot. They were closed for the winter, but they opened for the reception.

Ma and Pa with David, Susan, and Lulu.

Betsy, Susie, Pop, and Scott.

R.P. and Susie.

This guy.

Maya and Dexter with Alex, Dave, and Cody.

Three of the amazing women who took care of Gram in her last days. Kim (left side) was the lead caregiver and dedicated so much time to Gram.

Cousins!!!

Coco and Lizzie.

Now with Maya.

Lulu and Ron.

You may think these two are brother...and you'd be right. R.P. and Ted.

These guys.

Lizzie and Maya.

More happy reunions.

Watch the ever growing group shot...

...with more...

...with more...

...and I think that's just about everyone.

The Memorial

Today was the memorial. It was a lovely celebration of Gram's life.

The program.

Lovely drawn picture of Gram along with a teapot and cup.

So many flowers.

Everyone gathered.

Aunt Susie sharing her remembrances.

Aunt Betsy with hers.

Pop with his.

Sally Peterson (Gram's niece) giving a lovely talk about Gram's early life in Fiji.

At the end, we created a slideshow with the song Isa Lei, a Fijian goodbye song, in the background.

Dexter with Ted Higgins showing off their bowties after the ceremony.

Return to Cortland

The whole family flew out to Cortland for Gram's memorial. 

 Welcome to Cortland. Brrr.

Meeting with the Pastor at the church.

This was Gram's church for more than 50 years.

Hanging out in Gram's kitchen. Wonderful to see so much family together. Sadly, there was much work to be done in clearing out the house.

Aunt Susie taking a photo of Gram's portrait. A gift from Grandpa many years ago. 

So many lovely photos and memories.

Gram would have been happy to have all these people together.

Wonderful conversations.

Mom enjoyed catching up with our buddies from Washington state.

Time for evening scotch in honor of Gram.

This is one of the best moments with everyone together.

So many people that loved Gram.