A Nice Service

Yesterday was a beautiful day for my cousin Mark's graveside service.  It was held at Milford cemetery and although it was a sad afternoon, the sunshine and the pastor's remarks made up for that.  My Mom, Dad and I were all able to make the service and enjoyed listening to the stories of how Mark had turned his life around.  He had become an active member of a church that held services for the deaf and an avid reader of the Bible.  It was nice to see the Musser family as I hadn't been to a family event in years.  I thought that everyone looked the same, only older.  Thus, I found it funny that only my aunt Bev and Aunt Susie recognized me.  I had to "introduce" myself to my Uncle Jack and Mark's siblings Ann and Dave.  Ann told me that she would have never known who I was and Dave said that it couldn't be me as I used to be chubby with black hair.  That last comment made me laugh.

After the service, Mom and Dad showed me where Grandma and Grandpa Musser were buried.  I hadn't been there in years and was glad that they were able to show me as I would have never found it on my own.  Afterward my parents drove to Bremen.  My Mom had made up fall arrangements not only for the Milford cemetery, but for my brother's, grandparents', aunts', and great-grandma's as well.

While I was driving home, I thought a lot about what had made me sad at Mark's service today.  By the time I talked to Doug this afternoon I was able to put it into words.  As the pastor was speaking today I felt sad for Mark.  He was only 58 years old when he was killed in a tragic hit and run.  He still had a lot of years left to enjoy and I felt said that he didn't get that chance.  I was also sad that out of the eight Musser cousins, there were only five of us left with Mark's older sister, Angel, and my brother, Bunk, preceding him in death.  As sad as those two facts were, what really made me cry was that with Mark's passing, it was one more person that knew my brother that was no longer part of this world.  Every time that someone dies that knew Bunk, it almost feels like we lose another little piece of him.