I would like some thing gear head ish if that make any sents he is the one who got me in to cars and just want to say thanks in his send off and let he know I will take care of ma and his rides Thank. Tinman
As a former funeral director, my advice is to say what feels right. In my opinion, something else would feel "canned". Sorry about your pops.
I agree with birdman42, and what's more important is that even though he's gone, he knows. May he rest in peace, sounds like you had a good relationship, and that you'll have forever. Believe me, I know, my dad passed away in 1974 at 51 and he is the one who filled me with the hot rod passion and there isn't a day that goes by I don't think of him and it always brings a smile to my face. My prayers to you and your family.
I ended a funeral service with this from Langston Hughes (poet) once... Tell all my mourners To mourn in red -- Cause there ain't no sense In my bein' dead. It might have offended some...but it's all about remembering and celebrating, not about death where we know nothing and can do nothing until we get there ourselves.
Sorry to hear about your father passing on. When my Dad passed, we had a time during the service where we opened up to share some stories. Some of his old buddies started taking, everything from practical jokes, to my uncle as a teenager riding on a fender working the throttle as my dad drove only to put it in a ditch (no throttle linkage, it was a junk car they bought from a farmer), or driving 100 miles to "cruise for chicks" only to blow out 3rd gear and having to drive back in 2nd the whole way back. We taped the service. I agree, that what you have said is from the heart, nothing better then that.
Sharing those stories is really it. We did that after my Alice died, a month or so after the funeral. I heard stories from people who knew her long before I came along, childhood friends and people she worked with. It was a real celebration of a long hard life.
Another source of comfort would be the Hamb Chapel,,many dedicated folks stop in daily and are strong in their convictions and could possibly offer help. HRP
It will be great when you find the right words to say. I buried my dad last friday. Its never easy to know how to sum up a mans life.
I know I want this on my headstone 2Timothy 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
You may have said it all in you question...he taught you, now you have to carry on. That's all there is, perhaps, and it is a lot.
At a memorial service for a machinist friend one of the old timers said "he was a first class workman who always took good care of his tools". There are worse things to be remembered for.
The Jalopy Journal
