Crazy Lacey Lou: A Fine Farewell

On Tuesday, March 25th we said our final farewell to my dad.
His funeral was a bit different than most. Ever since my mom passed 13 years ago, my dad always reminded us he wanted to be buried in just a t-shirt and jeans. He got his wish. My uncle bought him a new Harley Davidson shirt and we paired it with a nice, broken in pair of his jeans and his "moccasins" aka slippers. We all wore a Harley shirt ourselves with jeans as well.

Cooper sporting a t-shirt from Grandpa.

This is the daughter of the bartender at the Lounge. She made this shirt. The bottom says "Adios Mother..!*?,#!s" It's what my dad would say as he walked out the door of the Lounge.

We chose flowers in Harley Davidson colors. (Hard to make them not look like Halloween but they turned out great.)

My dad's riding jacket and boots along with
his funny bomber helmet and an old photo
of him on his racing bike in his early years.

The service itself had no music, and was short and sweet. Me, my cousin Scott, and my sister all spoke and shared some great stories and memories of a life lived by someone that was anything but average, but happy and amazing to have known.
After the service, we were met at the door by a group called the Patriot Guard. They are a group of bikers, some that are veterans, that come and line the path with flags both as you leave the service and as the casket is carried to the graveside at veterans funerals. They also lead the funeral procession on the bikes with my brother at the lead. It was beyond perfect for my dad and brought about many happy and grateful tears.

At the graveside there was a gun salute and then the flag that draped his casket was folded and presented to my uncle. It is a very somber and proud moment to see such a beautiful and patriotic ceremony in honor of someone you love.

My amazing husband did an awesome job dedicating my dads grave. I am so grateful for the things he said during that dedication and blessing. They have since brought a lot of comfort to me and my family.
As the service came to a close the pallbearers laid their boutonnieres on his casket along with a coaster from the lounge, his favorite bar. These coasters were special because they had been used for years as a token of buying someone a beer, so it was as though everyone was buying him one last Bud and the coasters were being retired in his memory.

After all was said and done we headed up to the Shooting Star Saloon where Leslie hosted us for the traditional, yet not so traditional, post funeral luncheon. The previous night after the viewing Pat hosted us all at the Lounge. It was so much fun to it and hear all the hilarious stories from those that had known my dad for 40+ years. His spirit was definitely felt there among us all.